Factors Affecting The Adoption Of E Commerce

Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 16, No. 1, February 2011

Factors Affecting the Adoption of E-commerce for the Tourism Industry in Taiwan
Yu-Chung Hung1∗ , Yung-Lu Yang2, Hao-Erl Yang3 and Ya-Hsueh Chuang1
1

Department of Accounting and Information Technology, National Chung Cheng University,
168 University Rd, Min-Hsiung, Chiayi 621, Taiwan, ROC
2
Graduate School of Information Management, Tatung University, No. 40, Sec. 3, Jhongshan
N. Rd, Jhongshan District, Taipei City 104, Taiwan, ROC
3
Graduate School of Business Management, Tatung University, No. 40, Sec. 3, Jhongshan
N. Rd, Jhongshan District, Taipei City 104, Taiwan, ROC

The tourism industry has successfully pioneered the adoption of e-commerce with respect to its online trading systems. Given the potential for the tourism industry to impart knowledge to other industries, this study examines the acceptance of online trading systems for travel agencies in Taiwan. According to the results of a literature review, this study uses six critical factors that were identified in the literature review as formative influences on the adoption of e-commerce. These factors are then incorporated into a questionnaire designed to verify empirically the extent of their ability to be generalized.
This survey reveals that 80% of the travel agencies in the sample have adopted online trading systems. Particularly noteworthy is how the adopters and non-adopters hold different viewpoints on the following factors; “compatibility of adopting innovative technology”, “centralization of organization”, “organizational scale” and “correctness of website transmission”.
Key words: e-commerce, online trading system, innovation adoption

Introduction
In recent times, e-commerce has had a dramatic impact on consumer behavior. Online travel is one of the leading and fastest applications of e-commerce (Law, 2007). It enables potential

∗

consumers to compare prices among travel websites without directly interacting with a

References: Andreu, L., Alda´s, J., Bigne´, J. E., & Mattila, A. S. (2010). Buhalis, D., & Licata, M. C. (2002). The future etourism intermediaries Chiang, L. C. (2003). Effectiveness of the hotel websites in Singapore: A perspective from Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce Times. (2006a, January 23). Retrieved December 8, 2008, from http://www. December 8, 2008, from http://www.ectimes.org.tw/ Shownews.aspx?id=8351 Gatignon, H., & Robertson, T. S. (1989). Technology diffusion: An empirical test of competitive effects. Journal of Marketing, 53(1), 35–49. Grover, V., & Goslar, M. D. (1993). The initiation, adoption, and implementation of telecommunications technologies in U.S. organizations. Journal of Management Information Systems, 10(1), 141–163. Ho, C., & Liu, Y. (2005). An exploratory investigation of web-based tourist information search behavior Huang, S.-M., Hung, Y.-C., & Yen, D. C. (2005). A study on decision factors in adopting an online stock trading Kaiser, H. F. (1958). The varimax criterion for analytic rotation in factor analysis (2000). Influences on the corporate adoption of web technology Koufaris, M., Kambil, A., & LaBarbera, P. A. (2002). Law, R. (2007). A fuzzy multiple criteria decision-making model for evaluating travel websites Law, R., & Jogaratnam, G. (2005). A study if hotel information technology applications. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 17(2), Law, R., Qi, S., & Leung, B. (2008). Perceptions of functionality and usability on travel websites: The case of Chinese travelers Lawshe, C. H. (1975). A quantitative approach to content validity (1992). Adoption correlates and share effects of electronic data interchange systems in marketing channels. Pricewaterhouse Coopers. (1999). SME electronic commerce study (Rep. No. TEL05/97T). Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Robbins, S Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). Tan, M., & Teo, T. S. H. (2000). Factors influencing the adoption of Internet banking Visa. (2008, November 19). Visa survey reveals 80 percent of Asia Pacific Internet users go online to shop. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from http://www.visaasia.com/ap/sea/mediacenter/pressrelease/NR_SGP_ 191108.shtml Wheelen, T. & Hunger, D. (1998). Strategic management & business policy (6th ed.)