How can Hospitality Organizations Create IT Induced Competitive Advantage? A Theoretical Framework

This paper investigates the IT-induced competitive advantage in the hospitality industry. Moreover, it attempts to understand the structure of technology benefit stages in the industry since such benefits depend various components such as managements’ perception towards the technology, the sophistication of the deployed technologies, critical resources, and integration of the resources. Owing to the exploratory nature of the study, a semi-structured interview technique was chosen as the main data collection method since it allows a deep, detailed descriptions and imaginative explorations of participants’ ideas and experiences. A sample of members of AHLA E-Commerce and Technology Committee is interviewed. Probing technique will be used during the interview process. The research results indicate that IT induced competitive advantage is possible when hotels choose to invest in technologies with higher management skills and integrate all the possible technologies in the organization with a harmony that creates synergy. Critical resources and the sophistication of the selected technologies are also important