Research on evaluation of innovative 3-tier business model on online travel agency

Abstract

This paper constructs the evaluation research on Online Travel Agency (OTA) through the validative example of Ctrip.com on the innovative 3-tier business model which consists of a competitive advantage facet, a conceptual model and a financial model. Competitive advantage is the most important core concept in the field of business strategy, and it is also the sum of the performance of enterprises in the competitive market. The conceptual model describes the idea of a new business which is useful to explain a business. The financial model provides the numbers of the new business which makes the business model accountable and measurable. Through the integration of the financial model and the conceptual model, the overall synergy of competitive advantage is exerted. Due to the development of the Internet, the scale of Internet travel service is also expanded rapidly which is using the Internet e-commerce as its media, to form a new type of tourism enterprise operation pattern on the basis of construction of information technology. At this stage, China's tourism websites emerge in an endless stream, OTA, as a service industry, whether it is service content, scope or quality, should be made to develop and continue to make break-throughs, and also must be combined with their own strategy of continuous improvement and development, so as to access competitive advantage. The OTA enterprises continuous developing in the process, broaden the market space of Internet travel services, at the same time provide more consumption options and travel experience for tourist, thereby create more value for tourism industry. Simultaneously, this paper also analyzes the evolution law of the innovative business model on OTA, and the Ctrip.com is taken as a case study example to validate the proposed business model. The research conclusion can be used as a theoretical reference for the development of the OTA enterprises. And we believe that this paper will stimulate future empirical research on this important topic and positive implications for managers and policymakers of firms.