Analyzing the Authorship of Information Technology Publications in Leading Hospitality and Tourism Journals

Abstract

At present, the hospitality and tourism industries are largely relying on Information Technology [IT] applications for their businesses. This study selected six leading research journals in hospitality and tourism, including Annals of Tourism Research [ATR], Journal of Travel Research [JTR], Tourism Management [TM], International Journal of Hospitality Management [IJHM], Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly [CQ], and Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research [JHTR], as a database to analyze trends in IT research. A total of 4,031 full-length research papers have been published in these six research journals during the period 1985 to 2004. Excluding book reviews, research notes, editors’ comments, readers’ comments/rejoinders, and case studies, 185 entries of IT-related full-length papers were found. The number of full-length research papers had increased from 1,805 in the first studied decade (1985–1994) to 2,226 in the second studied decade (1995–2004). The number of published IT papers increased only slightly from 88 papers to 97 papers, representing a percentage decrease from 4.88% to 4.36%. While authors from the United States and the United Kingdom had contributed about 80% of all IT research papers during both decades, papers from the Asia Pacific region increased three-fold in the second decade. With intensified collaboration and the increasing complexity, difficulty, and comprehensiveness of research projects, multiple authorship has become increasingly common.