Examining the adoption of destination management systems

Abstract

PurposeThe study aims to adopt a multi‐stakeholder and inter‐organizational information systems (IOIS) approach for investigating the factors affecting the adoption of destination management systems (DMS) by various tourism stakeholders in Greece.Design/methodology/approachA literature review and focus groups were used for identifying and contextualizing the factors affecting the tourism stakeholders' decision to adopt DMS. In addition, a nationwide survey was conducted measuring the perceptions of various stakeholders in Greece about the factors influencing their DMS adoption.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that inter‐organizational and collaboration issues, secondary intra‐organizational and technological factors affect stakeholders' decision to adopt DMS. Significant different perceptions about the role and effectiveness of DMS were found between private and public tourism organizations, which highlight the need to manage the different (and sometimes conflicting) stakeholders' perceptions and interests.Research limitations/implicationsResearch can be conducted in different sectors to refine and test the findings about the factors influencing IOIS adoption in various social and environmental contexts. Future studies could also refine the findings by investigating not only the factors affecting the adoption of DMS but also the factors influencing their implementation and operations.Practical implicationsThe findings reveal important factors that need to be considered for influencing the stakeholders' decision to adopt IOIS and DMS in tourism. Specifically, the study highlights the need to address the adoption of DMS as a socio‐technical project that primarily emphasizes the management of stakeholders' relations, perceptions and interests. The findings also reveal the organizational and behavioural changes that are required in order to transform the management and increase the effectiveness of public DMS, which in turn can significantly increase the DMS adoption.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to the tourism field by examining DMS from a multi‐stakeholder and IOIS approach. The study also contributes to the IOIS literature by contextualizing and providing evidence of IOIS results from the tourism industry, since contextualization is considered crucial for refining and enhancing the transferability of IOIS research. The study also further advances IOIS research by including and investigating the perceived importance of items about the social context of IOIS (i.e. interorganizational and collaboration issues) as explanatory factors of IOIS adoption.