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

COBRA framework to evaluate e-government services: A citizen-centric perspective

E-government services involve many stakeholders who have different objectives that can have an impact on success. Among these stakeholders, citizens are the primary stakeholders of government activities. Accordingly, their satisfaction plays an important role in e-government success. Although several models have been proposed to assess the success of e-government services through measuring users' satisfaction levels, they fail to provide a comprehensive evaluation model. This study provides an insight and critical analysis of the extant literature to identify the most critical factors and their manifested variables for user satisfaction in the provision of e-government services. The various manifested variables are then grouped into a new quantitative analysis framework consisting of four main constructs: cost; benefit; risk and opportunity (COBRA) by analogy to the well-known SWOT qualitative analysis framework. The COBRA measurement scale is developed, tested, refined and validated on a sample group of e-government service users in Turkey. A structured equation model is used to establish relationships among the identified constructs, associated variables and users' satisfaction. The results confirm that COBRA framework is a useful approach for evaluating the success of e-government services from citizens' perspective and it can be generalised to other perspectives and measurement contexts. Crown Copyright © 2014.PIAP-GA-2008-230658) from the European Union Framework Program and another grant (NPRP 09-1023-5-158) from the Qatar National Research Fund (amember of Qatar Foundation

The mediating effect of attitude on direct and indirect determinants of Internet banking usage in Malaysia

Internet banking in Malaysia has been in existence for more than two decades. However, there is still lack of studies in discovering the aspects of attitude and behavior of the retail banking customers towards the adoption of the internet banking services. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the determinants of the internet banking usage from the angle of attitude and behavior of these customers in the internet banking usage. This study employed the Technology Acceptance Model by Davis as the underpinning theory and further enhanced it to the Extended Technology Acceptance Model by taking into account factors such as trust, internet self-efficacy, and subjective norm as the additional predictors of internet banking usage via the mediating effect of attitude towards usage. The study setting was based on five top commercial banking in Malaysia and systematic random sampling of data collection was done through households via self–administered questionnaire and analysis was done by using the structural equation modelling as the statistical tool. The findings show that perceived ease of use and attitude have a positive significant effect on internet banking usage while perceived usefulness and internet self-efficacy have a positive impact on attitude. The findings further reveal that perceived usefulness and internet self-efficacy mediate through attitude on the internet banking usage while trust, perceived ease of use, and subjective norm do not mediate through attitude on the internet banking usage. These results are immeasurably valuable to practitioners for managing and executing their marketing strategy. Furthermore, it contributes and enriches knowledge pertaining to the predictors of internet banking usage

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

Customer Value Perception towards Use of Mobile Banking Applications

Mobile banking (m-banking) is one of the most widely used applications and innovative banking services in the past decade. However, the adoption rate of m-banking in developing countries is low and still has potential for growth. We explored factors and value perceptions of clients toward the use of m-banking applications. A conceptual model is presented using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT). The tested variables are Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Social Integrative, Personal Integrative and Hedonic Benefits. 278 valid survey responses were collected from Iranian and Turkish clients. Multiple regression analysis indicated that Perceived Usefulness and Social Integrative Benefit are the key drivers in both Iran and Turkey, but Hedonic Benefit is only significant in Iran. The results contribute to literature by integrating UGT and TAM and to participate as it enables banks to better design services and to improve customer experience

A Meta Analysis on Adoption of Mobile Financial Services

During the last decade, there has been tremendous growth in mobile penetration in many countries across the globe including a number of developing countries. The total number of mobile subscription 5 billion by the end of 2010 and is further expected to grow multi-folds. On the other hand, around 2.5 billion adults worldwide do not have a savings or credit account with either a regulated bank or alternative financial institution (such as a microfinance institution). Around one billion people in emerging markets have a mobile phone but no access to banking services. This scenario has opened immense opportunities for organizations including banks, insurance companies and telecom operators to strengthen their customer base and increase revenue by providing various financial services to the consumers through mobile technology. Hence, it becomes very important to understand the factors that would act as drivers or inhibitors towards the adoption of mobile financial services (MFS). Quite a few studies have been conducted across the globe to determine the factors affecting adoption of MFS. This paper provides a Meta analysis of the existing academic literature on MFS and determines the strength of the factors and their linkages through a scoring model based on the type of publication. The findings of the study would be beneficial for further research in understanding the dimensions to be considered for developing adoption model for MFS. The findings can also be used by the practitioners involved in MFS in understanding the factors affecting demand for such services.

The Internet in Turkey and Pakistan: A Comparative Analysis

The Global Diffusion of the Internet Project was initiated in 1997 to study the diffusion and absorption of the Internet to, and within, many diverse countries. This research has resulted in an ongoing series of reports and articles that have developed an analytic framework for evaluating the Internet within countries and applied it to more than 25 countries. (Seehttp://mosaic.unomaha.edu/gdi.html for links to some of these reports and articles.) The current report applies the analytic framework to compare and contrast the Internet experiences of Turkey and Pakistan, through mid-2000. Although historically these countries have not been closely related, there are significant parallels between the two that make them well suited for a comparative study of the absorption of the Internet. Turkey and Pakistan are among the largest non-Arab Muslim countries in the world. In contrast to most of their Arab counterparts, their governments were founded as secular, parliamentary democracies. Both countries have had stormy political histories, however, with periodic coups and authoritarian governments. Each country has firmly entrenched bureaucracies with closed and, to varying degrees, corrupt processes

Factors encouraging and hindering a wider acceptance and more frequent utilization of mobile payment systems: an empirical study among mobile phone subscribers in Turkey

Purpose- This research deals with determining the factors that affect adoption of mobile payment technology among consumers, in Turkey. It seeks to find any patterns and connections that may be of aid in framing an implementation strategy for facilitating further adoption. It has gathered different definitions of “mobile payment” in literature and used a consumer side definition. Methodology- A survey is conducted among mobile phone subscribers in Istanbul, Turkey for primary data collection phase of this research. Istanbul is the city that holds the biggest population and has the highest amount of mobile phone subscribers in the country. Istanbul’s current population is more than 15.6million and mobile phone subscriptions are more than 22million as of 2019. Survey responses have been analysed with structural equation modelling and results are presented in the corresponding sections. Findings- Empirical findings of the research show that factors such as usefulness, security, social influence, ease of use, enjoyment and innovativeness have positive effects on use of mobile payments among consumers. Factors such as attractiveness of alternatives and new technology anxiety have negative effects on use of mobile payments. Conclusion- This research has shown that mobile payments are a potential mainstream trend for the near future. Several benefits of the mobile payment value chain for both technology providers and the consumers have been identified. Other findings of this research can be stated as the challenges which the stakeholders are experiencing while trying to extend mobile payment technologies to a wider consumer base. Therefore, the results and the variables can be used by service providers who want to launch new mobile payment solutions for similar markets and they can take actions for getting more efficient results accordingly.Publisher's Versio

Factors Determining the Purchase Intention of Bank Services in the Republic of Yemen

The issue of motivating consumers to use the banking system was solved in developed countries and in some Middle Eastern countries. However, it is still unpredictable in Yemen where the majority of the people do not use banking services to facilitate their financial needs. Therefore, it shapes a real problem and negatively impacted the Yemeni economy. This research project aimed to provide better awareness of the variables that might affect people to use the Yemeni banking system by applying the theory of reasoned action. This study is cross-sectional, 850 questionnaires were distributed to part time university students. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the contribution of independent variables in predicting behavioral intention, the dependent variable. Moreover, hierarchical regressions were used to test the effect of trust as a moderator variable. Eight variables of attitude and subjective norm were significantly and positively influence university student's behavioral intention to use banking services namely, attitude toward bank usage, attitude towards banking services, attitude toward service quality, attitude towards banking legal framework, social influence, recommendation by others on bank services, and bank advertisement. On the other hand, cultural belief was significant but in the negative direction. As well as, student’s trust had a statistically moderating effect with only three out of eight variables on the behavioral intention namely attitude toward bank usage, recommendation by others on bank services, cultural belief. The study had a significant contribution to the academic understanding of consumer's behavioral intention in Yemen, which might guide bankers and policy makers to use the right strategy in order to attract more consumers to use the banking system