Title: Determinants of e-business usage by travel agencies in developing countries: a decision tree approach

Authors: Tamer M. Elsawy

Addresses: Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Tourism Department, Pharos University in Alexandria (PUA), Alexandria, 21648, Egypt

Abstract: This study sought to investigate the determinants of post-adoption e-business usage (EBU) by Egyptian travel agencies. The study adopted an integrative model blending two theoretical perspectives; the diffusion of innovation theory and the technology-organisation-environment framework. Besides, the study used the decision tree (DT) method for data analysis and structured questionnaires to collect data from 320 agencies. The results revealed that only 37.4% of travel agencies are using e-business. Relative advantage was the most influential variable on EBU. Organisation size was the least influential variable. When interacting together, the most influential sets of variables on EBU were relative advantage, technological competence, and costs. The study provided important theoretical, managerial, and policy implications for researchers, managers, and decision-makers.

Keywords: e-Business usage; digital transformation; determinants; tourism SMEs; travel agencies; developing countries; decision tree; DOI/TOE theories.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2023.129173

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2023 Vol.13 No.1, pp.1 - 17

Received: 05 Jan 2022
Received in revised form: 20 Aug 2022
Accepted: 30 Aug 2022
Published online: 27 Feb 2023 *

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