Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Economy and Management Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In recent years, tourism has become a competitive industry in the world. Businesses have become more inclined to pursue new ways to gain a competitive advantage and more revenue. The best way to make progress in E-tourism is to design a business model. This research is applying mixed methods included both views of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The study population was qualitatively ten experts in business models and e-tourism who were interviewed. The statistical population of the quantitative section consists of 279 E-tourism specialists. The research results were categorized to design a business model. The results show that the creation of Shared value, rules and regulations governing the industry, and organizational culture and agility have a positive and significant impact on the design of business models in the E-tourism industry.
Introduction
The tourism industry is growing rapidly and is experiencing extensive changes around the world. It has attracted special attention for the position in this industry, and many modifications and developments; so, the number of tourists has increased from 528 million in 2005 to 1.19 billion in 2015. It is predicted that the number of tourists in 2030 will reach more than 1.80 billion people, indicating a more competitive industry (Hamid et al., 2021). The tourism industry has a special place in helping sustainable development; in other words, tourism is the only development method in many countries. Therefore, in the highly competitive environment of this industry, companies active in the field of tourism are forced to provide new models to improve their competitive advantage (Colabi and Karimirad, 2020). Tourism companies have witnessed new developments and tried to adapt to new technologies by making fundamental changes. E-tourism is the use of information technology to provide the services needed by tourists and are services that tourists traditionally used in the past. E-tourism encompasses all business components, such as e-commerce, e-content production, research and development, and e-marketing (Pencarelli, 2020). The tourism industry is one of the most successful industries in the electronic market because it is a customer-centric industry in which services and information play a major role in the exchange process (Joo, 2002). Companies have to design a business model that shows how to create value for profit. The business model is a multidimensional concept that shows the value creation path of the company and depends on activities that maintain the dynamism and flexibility of the company over time (Reinhold et al., 2017). In general, the concept of business model is as the company's view to create value and commercialize it or how to create a company and value it; The design of the business model also determines how an organization communicates with its stakeholders and how it will react to environmental changes (Colabi, 2020). Designing dynamic and innovative business models based on new technologies is important in the tourism industry.
On the other hand, it seeks to create innovation and create new ideas. Designing business models allows these companies to respond appropriately to changes and environmental dynamics. Despite many research articles on business models, the design of business models, especially in e-tourism, has received less attention and luck from researchers. Therefore, this study aims to present the components of the business model in the field of e-tourism in Iran in the form of a model. This study answers what pattern e-tourism follows and what are the main and secondary factors.
Materials and Methods
A mixed-method composed of the qualitative and quantitative parts has been applied for this study. In the qualitative part, content analysis and coding method, and in the quantitative part, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis have been done to identify the factors influencing the design of the business model. The research community in the qualitative sector includes people who specialize in designing business models, have also worked in the tourism industry. A number of these individuals were interviewed using purposive sampling (snowball sampling). Theoretical saturation was obtained after ten interviews. The statistical population in the quantitative part of the research is the managers and experts of tourism service companies in Tehran, 279 of whom were selected using Cochran's formula.
In the qualitative part, data collection was performed in two stages: 1) the structure of the interview was designed using the study of library resources and authoritative articles, 2) the interviews were conducted using the structure of the previous stage. A semi-structured interview method was used, and the interviews were carried out to the stage of theoretical saturation. Dimensions affecting the design of the business model were identified using the interview text coding method, and a questionnaire was designed. Nine professors and experts approved the questionnaire. The most important data collection method was sending a researcher-made questionnaire extracted from qualitative research data and has been approved by experts and professors in this field. The research questionnaire consists of 22 questions in two sections of general and specialized questions. Demographic information has been asked in the general section, and in the specialized section, 19 questions related to the factors affecting the design of the business model have been asked. A Likert scale of five options has also been used to design the questionnaire, which is one of the most common measurement scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the fit of the proposed model. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed with Amos 22.
Discussion and Results
The tourism industry has undergone extensive changes around the world. This study aimed to design a business model in the field of e-tourism in Iran and test the designed model. Identification of factors was made through the study of texts and semi-structured interviews. The results show that the creation of shared value, prevailing laws and regulations, organizational culture and agility are the dimensions of the business model design in the e-tourism industry.
Conclusions
Creating shared value is the most effective dimension in designing a business model. Creating shared value is the link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. When the weaknesses of society affect the organization's productivity, we deal with it by creating shared value for stakeholders. Companies active in e-tourism are advised to solve social problems to increase productivity and competitive advantage in the company. This study shows that employee participation in profits, lean manufacturing operations and services, appropriate pricing and confidence building, and transparency and accountability affect business model design. In terms of industry rules and regulations, sustainable development and environmental protection laws, improving the quality of services, reducing the damage to tourist attractions, and social responsibility are effective. Creating a sense of social responsibility and adhering to the industry's rules and regulations helps to achieve organizational goals. Agility also plays an important role in developing information and communication space in designing a business model. In general, the lack of infrastructure for change and innovation in the business acquisition model will face challenges for the company. Therefore, branding, intelligent information systems, access to media systems and communication channels, sufficient financial, operational, and educational resources facilitate designing a business model. Given that today industries are facing severe crises and lack of flexibility in the business process causes them to withdraw from the arena of competition, pay attention to these dimensions in designing a business model to solve these issues.
Keywords
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