Title: E-procurement in the hospitality industry: an exploratory study

Authors: Babu P. George, Alvin J. Williams, Tony L. Henthorne

Addresses: University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive, Box 5176, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, USA. ' Mitchell College of Business, University of South Alabama, 307 University Blvd., MCOB 232, Mobile, AL 36688, USA. ' William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 456023, BEH 449, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA

Abstract: E-procurement is promoted as a pathway to enhance revenue performance and reduce costs associated with the supply function. The hospitality industry has been a relatively late entrant into the e-procurement arena. Given some of the unique aspects of the industry, the adoption process has been hindered. Based on a series of informal interactions with industry experts, case studies, and a review of related extant literature, research propositions are presented on the key concerns of the adoption of e-procurement in the hospitality industry. Implications of the study for theory and practice are outlined.

Keywords: ICT; information technology; communications technology; technology adoption; decision making; e-procurement; electronic procurement; e-marketing; electronic marketing; back-end automation; brand equity; risk; uncertainty; demand predictability; hospitality industry; revenue performance; cost reduction; supply functions; USA; United States; hotels; gaming establishments; gambling; food services; procurement management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPM.2011.037384

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2011 Vol.4 No.1, pp.37 - 55

Published online: 31 Jan 2015 *

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