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Exploring the Internet Use of Small Tourism Enterprises: Evidence from a Developing Country
Author(s) -
Karanasios Stan,
Burgess Stephen
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the electronic journal of information systems in developing countries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.41
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 1681-4835
DOI - 10.1002/j.1681-4835.2006.tb00180.x
Subject(s) - the internet , exploit , developing country , tourism , business , marketing , sample (material) , maturity (psychological) , public relations , political science , economic growth , economics , world wide web , computer science , law , chemistry , computer security , chromatography
This article reports the findings of research conducted within Malaysia Borneo. Using field interviews with small tourism enterprises (STEs) the study explored the use of the Internet by STEs; specifically, the authors sought to identify how STEs exploit the information, communication, and transactions spaces created by the Internet. This study improves knowledge on how small enterprises, specifically STEs, use and overcome typical hurdles to adopting the Internet. In contrast to previous studies in developing countries, the results show that amongst participants there is a sufficient level of Internet maturity and many enterprises view its use as the norm. Although quite a specific sample of small enterprises have been selected for this article, this article identifies lessons that may be applied to STEs generally in developing countries. Some strategies to assist STEs in developing countries to implement and maintain a web presence are suggested.