The influence of the owner-manager of small tourism businesses on the success of internet marketing

Small businesses have been identified as a catalyst for creating jobs and generally growing the economy. One industry that is characterised by the proliferation of small businesses is the tourism industry. Key to this industry reaching its full potential is, however, access to markets. The Internet is seen by many as having the potential to help small tourism businesses understand their markets better, extend their market reach and to serve their customers more effectively, irrespective of their geographical location. However, identifying the factors that influence the success of the use of the Internet for marketing purposes is proving elusive.The focus of this study is to identify those owner-manager factors that are present in a small tourism business which will influence the success with which the Internet can be used to market the business. These are distinct from the factors implicit in the technology per se. If these owner-manager factors can be identified and their relative influence on Internet marketing success is determined, it will allow small tourist businesses to access markets more readily.The results of this study indicate that the level of involvement of owner-managers, the owner-manager having an entrepreneurial orientation, the knowledge of owner-managers, the involvement in decision making of owner-managers and a marketing orientation are important to the successful use of the Internet for the marketing of small tourism businesses in South Africa.

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The utilisation of the Internet to market small tourism businesses

South African Journal of Business Management ◽

10.4102/sajbm.v36i4.646 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 91-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

R. Elliott ◽

C. Boshoff

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Small Businesses ◽

Internet Marketing ◽

Substantial Contribution ◽

The Internet ◽

Full Potential ◽

Tourism Sector ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

High Level ◽

Organisational Factors

The tourism sector has been identified as an industry that has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the growth of the South African economy. The majority of tourism ventures are, however, small businesses, which differ from their larger counterparts not only in terms of size, but also in regard to access to resources and marketing expertise. Not surprisingly, one of the issues identified as preventing this sector from reaching its full potential is access to markets. The Internet has been identified as tool which may assist small businesses in both their global and domestic marketing.The focus of this study was to identify the factors specific to the Internet (rather than the technology per se or organisational factors) driving the success of the use of the Internet for marketing purposes in small businesses operating in the tourism sector in South Africa. If these factors can be identified and their relative influence on Internet marketing success be determined, it will allow small tourism businesses utilise the capabilities of the Internet more effectively.The results indicate that having a product champion in the business, having a network of effective alliances, a high level of owner-manager involvement in the Internet marketing strategy as well as a clear owner-manager vision are important to the successful use of the Internet for the marketing of small tourism businesses in South Africa.

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A vignette model for distributed teaching and learning

Research in Learning Technology ◽

10.3402/rlt.v6i1.10983 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marcel Chaloupka ◽

Tony Koppi

Keyword(s):

Learning Strategies ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Best Practice ◽

Distributed Learning ◽

The Internet ◽

Legacy Systems ◽

Full Potential ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Good Learning ◽

Business Sectors

The notion of convergence of disparate technologies has become popular with governments, computing and business sectors in the 1990s; but how has the convergence been implemented in the educational sector? One evident area of convergence in education has been the use of the Internet. But according to Gosper et al (1996), the most likely strategies for implementation are to use the Internet as a repository of reference, lecture materials and the presentation of the lectures. This could imply that the full potential of distributed learning through convergence might never be achieved. How can we implement good learning strategies following sound educational methodologies today, while not producing legacy systems or piecemeal content that could constrain future developments? In making it possible for distributed learning to occur, there are best-practice considerations applicable to most educational environments.DOI:10.1080/0968776980060107

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Future of Small Business E-Commerce

Electronic Commerce ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-943-4.ch166 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2159-2163 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Simpson Poon

Keyword(s):

Small Business ◽

Small Businesses ◽

Electronic Mail ◽

The Internet ◽

File Transfer Protocol ◽

File Transfer ◽

Research Findings ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

In The Beginning ◽

E Mail

The use of the Internet for business purposes among small businesses started quite early in the e-commerce evolution. In the beginning, innovative and entrepreneurial owners of small businesses attempted to use rudimentary Internet tools such as electronic mail (e-mail) and file transfer protocol (FTP) to exchange messages and documents. While primitive, it fulfilled much of the business needs at the time. Even to date, e-mail and document exchange, according to some of the latest research findings, are still the most commonly used tools despite the fact that tools themselves have become more sophisticated.

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Gambling on the Internet: A Threat to Tourism?

Journal of Travel Research ◽

10.1177/004728759703500413 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 77-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Norman Au ◽

J. S. Perry Hobson

Keyword(s):

Economic Benefits ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

Internet Gambling ◽

The Internet ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Tourism Flows

The limited number of legalized gambling and gaming destinations has resulted in significant tourism flows. In some destinations gambling has been permitted based on the economic benefits associated with increased amounts of tourism. The emerging use of the Internet, and the increasing access to new Internet gambling opportunities may pose a threat to gambling-related tourism. This article examines the issues surrounding the development of Internet casinos and assesses the likely impacts on the tourism industry.

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Internet Marketing in the Brand Technologies of the Tourism Industry

International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering - Special Issue ◽

10.35940/ijitee.k2411.0981119 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (11) ◽

pp. 2858-2861

Keyword(s):

Big Data ◽

Online Advertising ◽

Internet Marketing ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Behavior ◽

Media Study ◽

Use Of Internet ◽

Modern Technologies ◽

Future Plans

Due to global digitalisation, Internet marketing has long become an integral part of any effective marketing campaign. According to a Zenith Media study, the growth of the global online advertising market in 2019 is only 10%, which is the lowest increase since 2001. Rest and travel is one of the most popular and discussed topics on social networks. We share new impressions, vivid photos, videos, stories, and 90% of them somehow affect the tourism industry. The global digitalization and widespread use of mobile gadgets has changed the very essence of online behavior. We spend most of our free time on the Internet, we are happy to talk about future plans and remember them after their implementation. Thanks to modern technologies and specialized platforms, advertising campaigns on the Internet are launched in a matter of minutes, receiving instant feedback in the form of comments, applications and even sales. Internet marketing has tremendous mechanisms for targeting, analyzing and processing big data. Therefore, the future of the brand, especially in the field of tourism, depends on the use of Internet marketing by enterprises.

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E-Commerce Consumer and Product Characteristics

Encyclopedia of E-Commerce, E-Government, and Mobile Commerce ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-799-7.ch049 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 296-301

Author(s):

Daniele Scarpi ◽

Francesca Dall’Olmo-Riley

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Literature Review ◽

Web Sites ◽

Internet Marketing ◽

The Internet ◽

Product Characteristics ◽

Main Factors ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Willingness To Purchase ◽

Influence Behavior

Retailers having an online selling facility, or considering doing so, would benefit from a better understanding of the factors that influence consumers’ willingness to purchase online. This understanding would help them to plan their Internet strategies better, to design Web sites more effectively, to select the assortment of goods more likely to sell online, and to convert mere browsers into actual buyers. In fact, despite the worldwide diffusion and ever-increasing use of the Internet, e-commerce remains a limited phenomenon compared with the sales figures of traditional retailing: while an ever-increasing number of people use the Internet for gathering information, comparatively few buy online (Citrin, Stern, Spangenberg, & Clark, 2003; Dall’Olmo-Riley & Scarpi, 2005). This article aims at providing Internet marketing academics and practitioners with an account of the drivers and barriers to e-commerce, identified from a state-of-the-art literature review. The review is structured around the two main factors that appear to influence behavior on the Internet: consumer and product characteristics. Researchers agree that, although product characteristics play a role in e-commerce, the effects of attitudes, risk perception, and expertise are dominant. Hence, we first consider consumer characteristics.

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Future of Small Business E-Commerce

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, First Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-553-5.ch221 ◽

2005 ◽

pp. 1253-1256

Author(s):

Simpson Poon

Keyword(s):

Small Business ◽

Small Businesses ◽

Electronic Mail ◽

The Internet ◽

File Transfer Protocol ◽

File Transfer ◽

Research Findings ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

In The Beginning ◽

E Mail

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An Early Pioneer of Medical Tourism's Use of the Internet and Social Media

Current Issues and Emerging Trends in Medical Tourism - Advances in Hospitality, Tourism, and the Services Industry ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8574-1.ch012 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 162-172

Author(s):

Phillip D. Pardo

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Swot Analysis ◽

Medical Tourism ◽

Medical Advice ◽

Perceived Threat ◽

The Internet ◽

Full Potential ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

The Web ◽

Internet And Social Media

Medical tourism, as has been mentioned numerous times in other chapters in this book, is not a new concept, but what happened in the early 1990's with the advent of the Internet was truly novel. For most medical physicians the potential of this innovation was quite unexpected and at first difficult to accept. Some however embraced it… this is the story of one doctor practicing in Belgium who saw the potential of the web and instead of bowing to the perceived threat, embraced its full potential from day one. By looking at the effects of the internet on Medical Tourism using a SWOT analysis and following this pioneer from the mid 1990's (remember that 1993 marks the first real use of websites), this chapter tries to map the earliest evolution of the use of the web for the delivery of medicine and medical advice.

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The Evolving Value of eTourism for Suppliers and Visitors

Mobile Computing and Wireless Networks ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8751-6.ch072 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 1611-1636

Author(s):

João V. Estêvão ◽

Maria João Carneiro ◽

Leonor Teixeira

Keyword(s):

Business Processes ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

The Internet ◽

Demand Side ◽

Tourism Sector ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Destination Management Organizations ◽

Tourism Services

The tourism industry is known to have an extensive use of the Internet, both on the supply and on the demand side. The steady and fast emergence of the Internet has dramatically changed the business processes within the sector, forcing suppliers and intermediaries to adapt to a scenario in which visitors have multiple and more flexible choices regarding the search, planning, booking, and purchase of tourism services and products. This chapter explores the main impacts and trends that the dynamic use of the Internet within the tourism sector—the so-called eTourism—has originated in each of the sector's main stakeholders, including suppliers, intermediaries, destination management organizations, and tourists.

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SME Characteristics and the Use of the Internet to Expand the Scale and Geographic Scope of Sales

Small and Medium Enterprises ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-3886-0.ch033 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 644-679

Author(s):

Piers Thompson ◽

Robert Williams ◽

Gary Packham ◽

Brychan C. Thomas

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Small Businesses ◽

Web Site ◽

The Internet ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Medium Enterprise ◽

Geographical Expansion ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Large Survey ◽

It Skills

The potential of the Internet to both geographically expand customer bases and provide a source of sales growth has led to a rapid embracement of the Internet by a majority of small businesses in the United Kingdom. However, many studies suggest that much of this adoption takes the form of simple Web sites representing little more than an electronic brochure. Although theories and models have been proposed suggesting adoption and development of e-commerce takes a staged process, with firms moving to more complex e-commerce processes after first mastering simpler forms of Web site, studies have found mixed evidence with regard to this. This chapter investigates the level of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Web site adoption and functionality and how this relates to growth aspirations, specifically the geographical expansion of customer bases. One potential explanation for this slow uptake of true e-commerce is a lack of employees with basic and advanced IT skills. The possibility that Information Technology (IT) skills shortages could explain the gap between the Internet’s potential and the extent of involvement by a vast majority of UK SMEs is explored. Discussion within the chapter is complemented with analysis of data from a large survey of SMEs.

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