Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1980s (Werthner 1996; Werthner and Klein 1999) to major global distribution systems like
SABRE and Amadeus in the 1990s to the enormous number of current travel activities on the
Web. The wider concept of distribution strategies has been defi ned as 'the process of strategically
managing the movement and storage of materials, parts, and fi nished inventory from suppliers
through the fi rm and onto its customers' (Christopher 1992: 4). Now more than ever the
Internet brings a multiplicity of players together with relatively easy access to each other and
each other's information base. The implication of this is clearly that a more level playing fi eld has
been created with more options available to the creators of products and services and the fi nal
consumer. Internet booking brings new independence for suppliers and travellers (Poon 1993).
More than a decade ago it was felt that the international landscape showed Internet readiness
in some countries. Canadians and North Americans in general were keen users. According to
Law and Leung (2000) Europe lagged behind North America by 14-18 months for Internet
penetration. Of particular importance is that the developing world and in particular the
Caribbean typically lags behind both. There are obvious implications for countries which are
slower on the uptake of ICTs and for businesses operating in those contexts. Intermediaries
in Jamaica, which are predominantly travel agencies that focus on the outbound traveller, may
therefore not experience some of these global issues at the same rate as more developed
economies and as a result become complacent. Studies related to technology adoption may be
categorized as pre-Internet or post-Internet phase studies. Dominant works in the pre-Internet
phase had their foundations in the work of Rogers (1962) and Davis (1989). Fundamental
differences in these schools of thought lie in their approaches to understanding the drivers of
adoption. In Rogers' (1962) diffusion of innovations, he focuses on innovation, communication
and the role of the social system, while in Davis' (1989) technology acceptance model, the
emphasis is on individual perceptions about whether a particular technology innovation is easy
to use or meets individual needs (usefulness).
In the post-Internet phase, the debate suggests that technology is now more pervasive and
widespread than earlier technologies such as those which enhanced the productivity of farming
processes for example those originally studied by Rogers (1962). According to Parker (1988),
information, rather than land or capital, will drive the creation of wealth and prosperity over
the next several decades. Technology is irreversibly changing the business world and internal
organizational operations. Drucker (1990) further argues that there is a transformation in
which it is knowledge and not capital, natural resources or labour, which has the greatest
impact as a means of production. Technology which facilitates knowledge transfer allows for
competitive advantage for businesses (Porter 2001). There is a diffi culty, however, in providing a
succinct defi nition of ICT. Buhalis (2002) points out that ICTs include hardware, software,
groupware, netware, as well as the intellectual capacity to develop, programme and maintain
the equipment. Due to the complexity and breadth of these electronic tools that facilitate the
strategic management of organizations, it is important to note that this chapter aims to focus on
what is arguably the most pervasive of these tools: the Internet and the impact on retail and
distribution fi rms.
Although conceived in 1969 the Internet never had widespread use as we know it today until
1991. In comparison to other technologies the Internet spread much faster throughout the
world and all dimensions of organizations and industries have to be re-examined in the light
of the power of this new ICT (Amit and Zott 2001). Other theorists in the
post-Internet phase
argue that the Internet affects every part of the business' operation from internal processes to
external relationships and has the ability to permeate multiple economic sectors and industries
and transform the business operations internally and externally (Timmers 1998; Wirtz 2001;
Tang and Yang 2011).
