An exploratory study of the socio-cultural impact on the adoption of e-commerce for firms in the tourism industry of Thailand

In this paper we develop an Enterprise Systems Implementation Methodology in Action framework. The framework is grounded in contemporary views on methodology in action (theoretical grounding) and enhanced by an empirical study (empirical grounding). The notion of Implementation Methodology in Action, as articulated in this paper, integrates two complementary views that conceptualise a methodology in terms of 1) a technology focusing on a formalised aspect, i.e. content as prescribed by designers, and 2) a structural view focusing on situational aspects including implementers, implementation context, Enterprise Systems Software and other individuals participating in the implementation project. The purpose of the framework is to integrate existing methodology views in order to contribute to a better understanding of Enterprise Systems implementation methodology. The integrated methodology concept is understood in terms of formalised and situational elements. These elements exert a significant influence on the characteristics and effectiveness of methodology use and implementers’ actions, which may explain differences in the outcomes of the Enterprise Systems implementation process. The results from this research also helps participants in Enterprise Systems projects to become aware of the elements which may influence the actions of the users working with implementation methodologies as well as the reasons for these actions in the Enterprise Systems implementation

Reshaping e-commerce in Thailand: An exploratory study of Internet technology for inter-firm communication adoption in the Thai tourism industry from a cultural fit perspective

The Thai government has emphasised in building technical infrastructure to mimic e-commerce models from western countries. However, evidences shows that Thailand has not yet succeeded in the e-commerce adoption. This study addresses the cultural barriers of Internet technology for inter-firm communication1 adoption in the Thai tourism industry. The results outline various issues emerging from the affect of the Thai’s national culture in business to business communication that impact the B2B e-marketplace2 and e-mail adoption. These are: personal relationship, long term relationship orientation, inter-organisational trust, ability to communicate in English language; and materialism. The data were collected by in-depth interviews with the government and practitioners in the Thai tourism industry

National Culture\u27s Impact on B2B Technology Adoption in Thailand

Although Information Technology (IT) transfer from western countries to developing countries in Asia has been studied extensively in IS research, there has been little research investigating the fit between culture and B2B technology adoption. This study began to explore the fit between Thai’s culture and B2B technology and its implications on the utilization of the technology. The evidence via survey questionnaire with quantitative analysis on the impact of Thai’s culture for companies adopting B2B technology was provided. This study found that Thai culture does shape the appropriateness of B2B technology adoption and it seems to misfit for the way in which Thai businesses are operated. The cultural dimensions identified in this research are personal relationships, long term relationships, interorgnaisaitonal trust, ability to communicate in English language and materialism

Introducing Cultural Fit Factors to Investigate the Appropriateness of B2B Technology Adoption to Thailand

This study develops an integrative model and conceptually-based scales for evaluating the extent to which national culture impact the B2B technology adoption in Thailand. It is the first paper that introduces a method to measure the fit between Thai culture and B2B technology adoption1, which the researcher refers to ‘cultural fit’. The discussion on the current research gap in national cultural theories in relation to IT adoption research, theories of fit and current research on Thai’s culture were presented. Based on this literature as well as qualitative data collection, pre-test and pilot test surveys, questionnaire items were developed and analyzed. The resulting dimensionality of cultural fit, used for investigating the appropriateness of B2B technology adoption in Thailand, includes personal relationship, long term relationship, interorganisational trust, ability to communicate in English language and materialism

What Prevent B2B eCommerce Adoption In Developing Countries?: A Socio-Cultural Perspective

It is widely believed that B2B e-commerce will help firms in developing countries to reduce cost and to improve their access to global market. Yet, developing countries are still some way from success in their adoption of B2B e-commerce. This paper explores social and cultural perspectives that impact on B2B e-commerce adoption in developing countries. Interviews were conducted with key informants from various industries in Thailand. Some common problems related to social and cultural issues faced by industries are presented. It was found that even though B2B e-commerce was implemented in many firms, its use was still very limited. Firms do not feel that they have benefited much from B2B e-commerce adoption. The problem identified is that the immediate social and cultural expectations of e-commerce users in Thailand are not being met by e-commerce technologies. It appears that technologies that have evolved from Western society are designed to meet needs that do not necessarily exist in the commercial environment of Thailand

Information Technology Applications in Hospitality and Tourism: A Review of Publications from 2005 to 2007

The tourism and hospitality industries have widely adopted information technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and most importantly to improve service quality and customer experience. This article offers a comprehensive review of articles that were published in 57 tourism and hospitality research journals from 2005 to 2007. Grouping the findings into the categories of consumers, technologies, and suppliers, the article sheds light on the evolution of IT applications in the tourism and hospitality industries. The article demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the competitive operations of the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the distribution and marketing of organizations on a global scale

Identifying Facilitators and Challenges for IT Adoption at a Local Malaysian Retail Company: The IT Management Perspective

Substantial research that examines the adoption of IT-enabled initiatives by organisations has been conducted in the context of western countries. Existing research shows that IT systems and their adoption are largely shaped by the characteristics of organisations, organisational culture, and business environment. To address the limited understanding of IT adoption practices in developing countries, this paper investigates facilitators and challenges related to technological, organisational and environmental contexts for IT adoption. For this purpose, a case study was conducted with a local Malaysian retail company which experiences enormous competitive pressure from influential international retail giants operating in Malaysia. The findings of the study offer important lessons for organisations operating in developing countries

The adoption of green practices by small and medium sized hotels in Southern Thailand

There have been some encouraging trends in recent years towards green and sustainable practices. Green practices from the foundation to certification schemes are increasingly important for companies involved in tourism and hospitality industries.There are a number of factors driving the demand for green. In hotel industry, however, it is claimed that small and medium-sized enterprises are not actively involved in green practices. The question is whether or not SME owner-managers of hotels are ready to keep abreast of the changes in the dynamic market environment. Using institutional theory as the underpinning theory, this study is to investigate factors that influence the adoption of green practices among small and medium sized hotels in Phuket and Krabi, Southern Thailand. The study adopts a quantitative approach.Data of quantitative analysis was collected through a survey of 145 owner-managers. Results show that internal push factors such as owner-manager attitudes and environmental awareness, and external pull factors such as supply chains positively influence the adoption of green practices. Interestingly, fund availability moderates the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Policy, theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. Finally, this research provides suggestions for future work

Antecedent and Mediator of Actual Visit Behavior Amongst International Tourists in Jordan

Actual visit behavior has been for many years an area of ongoing interest in fields that span both tourist behavior and international marketing. Despite the growth of the tourism industry, hotel industry is facing fluctuating tourist revisit intention provoked by dissatisfaction, high travel risk, mediocre hotel service, or negative Jordan image. Moreover, considerable fragmentation and inconsistency in empirical findings has limited theory development. This thesis, which is based on the concepts of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), has the following objectives: (1) to identify the direct influence of (perceived risk, revisit intention and perceived behavior control) on actual visit behavior. (2) to identify the direct influence of (tourist satisfaction, tourist attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavior control) on revisit intention. (3) to identify the direct influence of (perceived risk, Jordan image and service climate) on tourist satisfaction. (4) to examine to what extent revisit intention and tourist satisfaction mediate the relationship between perceived risk and actual visit behavior. (5) to determine the mediating effect of revisit intention on linkage of perceived behavior control with actual visit behavior. (6) to determine how the underpinning theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) can be used to explain actual visit behavior in Jordan. The measurement for the latent variables is adopted from past studies as follows: tourist satisfaction (10 items); perceived risk (7 items); Jordan image (11 items); service climate (10); revisit intention (5); tourist attitude (6 items); subjective norm (6 items); perceived behavior control (6 items); actual visit behavior (5 items). From 850 samples, 494 usable responses were returned representing a 59% response rate. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), the Generating (MG) achieved model fit as shown in the GOF index: Ratio (CMIN/df) =1.186; GFI=0.973; RMSEA= 0.019; TLI=0.991; P-value=0.096. The SMC = 0.703 which means that the predictors explain 70.3% variance in actual visit behavior. The findings highlight five direct significant antecedents of actual visit behavior: revisit intention ( =.264, CR=2.720 p=0.007), perceived risk ( =-.318, CR= -2.197 p=0. 028), subjective norm ( =.199, CR=2.112 p=.035), Jordan image ( =.504, CR=2.653 p=.008) and service climate ( =.226, CR=3.020 p=.003); three direct significant antecedents of intention: tourist satisfaction ( =.373, CR=5.400 p=***), tourist attitude ( =.182, CR= 2.734 p=.006), subjective norm ( =.262, CR= 4.178 p=***); three direct significant antecedents of satisfaction: Jordan image ( =.356, CR=2.407 p=.016), subjective norms ( =173, CR=2.343 p=.019) and perceived behavior control ( =.159, CR=2.117 p=.034). The study found two insignificant direct antecedents to actual visit behavior PBC and satisfaction; one insignificant direct antecedents of intention i.e. PBC; three insignificant direct antecedents of satisfaction i.e. service climate and attitude. The finding supports eleven hypotheses (H1, H2, H3, H4, H7, H9, H4a, H9a, H10a, H4b, and H5a) and rejects six hypotheses (H5, H6, H8, H10, H2a, and H3a). Satisfaction and intention were found to be non-mediators

Malaysian bilateral trade relations and economic growth

This paper examines the structure and trends of Malaysian bilateral exports and imports and then investigates whether these bilateral exports and imports have caused Malaysian economic growth. Although the structure of Malaysia’s trade has changed quite significantly over the last three decades, the direction of Malaysia’s trade remains generally the same. Broadly, ASEAN, the EU, East Asia, the US and Japan continue to be the Malaysia’s major trading partners. The Granger causality tests have shown that it is the bilateral imports that have caused economic growth in Malaysia rather than the bilateral exports