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BPMJ
28,4
1146
Received 29 May 2022
Revised 16 July 2022
Accepted 22 July 2022
Business Process Management
Journal
Vol. 28 No. 4, 2022
pp. 1146-1163
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1463-7154
DOI 10.1108/BPMJ-05-2022-0246
Cloud infrastructure enhancing
product competitive advantage
of tourism SMEs on online
consumption values of tourists
Hsin-Yi Huang
Department of Computer Science and Information Management,
Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan
Edward C.S. Ku
Department of Travel Management,
National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism,
Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, and
Chun-Der Chen
Department of Business Administration, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Abstract
Purpose – This research aimed to examine the role of cloud infrastructure capabilities of tourism small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism supply chain, increasing the online consumption value of tourists.
Design/methodology/approach – This study uses stratified random sampling. A value model was
formulated, and the study distributed 2,000 surveys; 412 valid responses were received and analyzed using the
structural equation modeling approach.
Findings – The cloud-based architecture provides tourism SMEs a competitive advantage in the dynamic
tourism market and the ability to develop next-generation system capabilities while providing tourism SMEs
with a new application foundation to adapt to the ever-changing tourism market.
Originality/value – For tourism SEMs, the cloud allows adjusting strategies and procedures for tourism
supply chain management; this agility enables tourism SMEs to anticipate changes in the travel market and
respond to changing consumer demands in the tourism industry.
Keywords Tourism SMEs, Technology-organization-environment, E-marketplace systems,
Online consumption value, Tourism marketing
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Cloud infrastructure can provide enterprises with a guaranteed tourism supply chain to
perform efficient tasks and improve business performance (Purbadharmaja et al., 2021; Zhao
and Hou, 2021; Bazan and Estevez, 2022); the rise of e-commerce in the tourism business has
promoted innovation and cooperation between tourism businesses to increase tourist
consumption and satisfaction (Ku et al., 2020; Samara et al., 2020; Elshaer and Saad, 2021),
cloud solutions can assist tourism small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to integrate
products into the tourism supply chain to tourists; drawing on the resource dependency
theory and technology-organization-environment (TOE), gaining a competitive advantage in
the tourism supply chain through information and communication technology (ICT)
applications is a concern to tourism SMEs.
This research aimed to explore how tourism SMEs in the tourism supply chain use cloud-
enabled was increasing the online consumption value of tourists through e-marketplace
systems (EMSs). Prior research has indicated that tourism has provided tourists with
valuable travel-related information services tailored to their individual needs and locations
online (Du et al., 2019; Nunez-Rios et al., 2022). From the TOE perspective, when tourists
search for travel information with practical mobile application support (Shi and Tsai, 2020), Advantage of
their satisfaction with the brand and consumption will increase. Tourism SMEs cannot tourism SMEs
maintain their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems (Ku, 2022) which makes them
unable to compete with wholesalers through ERP technical capabilities, and limited by
specific resources, it is considered difficult to create these innovative tourism products
(Pai and Ananthakumar, 2017; Ku, 2022; Shah et al., 2015). This study explores how tourism
SMEs has used EMSs to increase tourists’ transactions and satisfaction.
Wholesalers in the supply chain can collaborate with operational partners to easily 1147
provide tourism products online to tourists (Font et al., 2021; Palang and Tippayawong, 2019;
Huang et al., 2019). However, tourism SMEs that provide mobile applications must be applied
with EMSs. The practicality and personalization of travel-related information provided by
cloud infrastructure capabilities play a significant role in creating online tourist benefits
throughout the tourism market.
Likewise, with the rise of e-commerce and increased mobile device usage, tourists expect
information via cloud infrastructure throughout the travel process (Mohseni et al., 2018;
Kazemian et al., 2022). Thus, the e-commerce of tourism business will integrate technology,
systems, services and functions into an organic network with enough diversity and flexibility
to adapt to future competition. In addition, tourism SMEs will offer individually tailored
electronic tourism products and reduce information overload for tourists, increasing their
competitive advantage.
Cloud infrastructure capabilities can also give the tourism business a competitive
advantage (Renjith et al., 2020; Torres et al., 2018; Pierdicca et al., 2019). Due to the increased
application of cloud infrastructure in tourism, interested tourists receive relevant travel-
related information, while SMEs receive relevant tourist updates. Processing cloud resources
strategically can support and integrate organizational activities and other resources. Product
competitive advantage significantly impacts market success and supplier integration
reduces procurement costs to improve corporate performance.
Product competitive advantage is the perceived advantage of a product over its competing
products (Qi et al., 2020). Measured by the technical performance and quality of the product
and the degree to which the product meets customer needs. As the cloud infrastructure used
in the tourism business increase, travel businesses are developing electronic tools to create
and provide value-added services to tourists. Collecting and analyzing data requires
dedicated cloud solutions; therefore, its quality is a key factor in the tourism business’s ability
to satisfy tourist needs and preferences.
Tourism SMEs also must continue to upgrade their cloud infrastructure capabilities
(Mapeshoane and Pather, 2016; Ku, 2022), and cooperate with collaborating suppliers to ensure
lower distribution costs to increase online tourists’ value. Cloud infrastructure application
significantly impacts supplier integration due to their effect on tourism business abilities to
process tourists’ information. Tourism SMEs see key suppliers as strategic partners and
develop their technical and management capabilities; accordingly, these supplemental
functions of EMSs are used in product development, production and delivery for SMEs.
Previous research indicates that aligning ICT strategy with business strategy is crucial
for improving profitability and gaining competitive advantage (Dragan et al., 2018; Palang
and Tippayawong, 2019). Therefore, the extent to which a tourism business can quickly
modify cloud infrastructure capabilities seems to increase the capabilities of its online travel-
related products, thereby satisfying consumers’ unique needs and functions. Tourism SMEs
can foresee that cloud solutions contribute to business value and adequate cloud
infrastructure improves material flows between tourism supply chain partners. Similarly,
tourism SMEs can share operational and strategic information with their suppliers.
This study explores how tourism SMEs affects tourists’ online consumption value by
EMSs. This study’s value model was formulated using the structural equation modeling
BPMJ (SEM approach). The research hypotheses evaluated were how the application of cloud
28,4 infrastructure, end-user devices, product competitiveness and supplier integration affected
the online consumption value of tourists. Finally, the study suggests increasing tourism
business performance by applying cloud solutions.

2. Theoretical background and literature review

1148 2.1 The collaborating EMSs and ERP of the tourism businesses
EMSs are online trading systems enabling suppliers, distributors, business service providers,
infrastructure providers and consumers to communicate and trade with each other (Ku, 2022).
EMSs mean that tourism businesses can use cloud infrastructure to solicit tourism products
from multiple companies within the same industry and then sell them to consumers. Through
this platform, consumer travel-related information can be integrated and combined with
wholesalers; Previous studies have shown that cooperation between suppliers can increase
efficiency and reduce operating and production costs (Fong et al., 2021; Kontis and Skoultsos,
2022; Gaffar et al., 2022). Similarly, Suppliers seeking to adapt to the external environment
must assess their resources and capabilities to develop deal-specific investments to build
relationships with partner companies. In this study, wholesalers are upstream in the tourism
supply chain (ERP systems by self-developed) and tourism SMEs play the role of
intermediaries (with EMSs) in the tourism supply chain in this study. Figure 1 Explain the
relationships between ERP and EMSs among tourism supply chains.
The tourism supply chain is a structure in which tourism enterprises and suppliers
develop together based on cooperation agreements; this includes the cooperation and
contribution of capital, technological capabilities or proprietary company assets while
pursuing the overall interests of the partners (Abou-Shouk, 2018; Keskin and Ucal, 2021;
Huang et al., 2019). The development and production of specific tourism products are easily
shared among tourism supply chain members (Shariff and Abidin, 2018; Jalilvand et al., 2019).
The tourism SMEs that adapted EMS collaboration increased the group out rate, retained
customers and expanded tourism product lines. Correspondingly, the marketing strategy is
measured by adapting EMS, including product design ability, channel sales ability, ability to
adjust the price and marketing ability.
From the perspective of the tourism supply chain, due to the multi-level link relationship
between tourism sales channels and the sales activities of the entire tourism distribution
market, integrating tourism sales activities is one of the most critical purposes of the tourism
supply chain (Beirman, 2019; Ku et al., 2020); with the influence of EMS, the business model of
tourism SMEs has gradually changed. From the point of view of resource dependence, when
tourism enterprises cooperate in business, both parties will launch a new vertical integration
system; therefore, the cloud infrastructure of tourism business will collaborate EMSs and

ERP ERP wholesalers

e-marketplace e-marketplace
Tourism SMEs

Figure 1.
The structure of the tourists tourists tourists
tourism supply chain tourists
ERP to innovate tourism products and increase the value of tourism customization service. In Advantage of
addition, ICT will enhance tourism businesses to pre-intermediate increasing online tourism SMEs
consumption value for tourists.

2.2 The perspective of technology-organization-environment (TOE)

The TOE perspective is a theoretical framework used to explain technology adoption in an
organization and describe how the technological environment, organizational environment
and environmental environment affect the adoption and implementation of technological 1149
innovation (Lin, 2017; Adam et al., 2020). TOE assumes that the decision to employ ICT
depends on technical competence, organizational resources and environmental
characteristics’ impact (Hossain, 2014), and TOE pointed out that due to the self-interest
and different goals of supply chain partners; as tourism SMEs operation practice, TOE
emphasizes that an institution’s determination to adopt technological innovation is not only
based on technical factors but also the impact of relevant organizational background and
competitive environment, cloud infrastructure will become an essential ICT application for
tourism SMEs to create advantage. Therefore, the TOE framework provides a suitable
research model for investigating future global information system strategic issues and
effectiveness. Prior research has stated the significant role of TOE in ICT-based tourism
service contents, cloud infrastructure capabilities (Antonio and Serra, 2018; Mahroof, 2019;
Loureiro, 2018) and the link to the end-user device of EMSs (Adam et al., 2020; Corno et al.,
2019); cloud infrastructure has become an essential tool for tourism business to create a
smooth experience for consumers purchasing tourism products. The TOE improves mobile
application service by aligning consumer and provider resources. For firms that adopt the
TOE, the sales process needs to reflect the embedded value concurrently.
The maturity of the cloud infrastructure significantly impacts an affiliate’s business
strategy selection (Ominde et al., 2021; Chege et al., 2020). Cloud infrastructure bridges the
relevant information needed by consumers and tourism businesses’ tourism products and
services. In addition to basic consumer requirements, the end-user device of mobile
applications combines visual appeal and function with a convenient interface, thus enhancing
consumer satisfaction when using the mobile application (Gutierrez et al., 2015). Furthermore,
consumers prefer that an experience be online in addition to being positive.

2.3 Resource dependence theory

Resource dependence means that in a competitive environment, companies will seek external
resources to create a competitive advantage (Wang, 2021; Feng et al., 2021). Therefore, from
the perspective of resource dependence, the company will minimize its dependence on key
external resources and suppliers. SMEs need assistance from the tourism supply chain (Jiang
and Ke, 2020; Moyle et al., 2018) to accelerate the development of agility in the tourism
industry supply chain.
One of the main features of the e-tourism business is the ability to provide a mechanism for
direct transactions between airlines, accommodation providers, and customers (Almunawar
et al., 2013; Magno et al., 2017). From the perspective of resource dependence, tourism SMEs
can activate the tourism supply chain relationship by combining cross-organizational
resources to promote the agility of the supply chain by EMSs in the global business
environment (Ku, 2022), relatively tourism SMEs’ marketing plans and cooperation with
partners will influence the degree of resource dependence.
According to the statistical analysis of the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transport,
Taiwan’s travel agencies are primarily small-scale firms. SMEs will develop marketing
strategies with suppliers becoming more critical for academics and practice from core
competence and the overall tourism market impact. From the resource dependence theory
perspective, previous studies indicated the competitive advantage of tourism products
BPMJ (Gong and Janssen, 2021) and supplier integration (Xiao et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2018) to gain an
28,4 advantage in a dynamic electronic tourism market. EMSs will become a critical core resource
for SMEs providing essential tools for product sales, strategies and customer service.

3. Research models and hypotheses

This research is based on the TOE and resource dependence perspective to develop a
1150 research model. Figure 2 illustrates that industry-wide cloud infrastructure and the end-user
device of mobile applications affect tourist consumption value through competitive product
advantage and supplier integration.

3.1 Cloud infrastructure capabilities of tourism supply chain

Cloud infrastructure is a set of remote hardware and software used to send and receive
information to various systems (Torres et al., 2018; Al-Shboul, 2019); they provide an
adequate information platform that allows firms of different sizes to use technology to
conduct business activities on the information platform, simultaneously developing flexible
technical structures to conduct business in response to customer needs and market changes.
The capabilities to collect and analyze data require a dedicated cloud infrastructure
consisting of advanced technology for data storage, data management and analysis tools
(Loureiro, 2018; Torres et al., 2018; Mandal, 2018). Transformed data were collected and
aggregated through cloud solutions of ICT infrastructure and social connections into on-site
experiences and new business models to improve efficiency and create value.
The tourism business promotes direct interaction with service providers and dramatically
expands tourists’ travel options. With the rise of tourism e-commerce, the impact of cloud
infrastructure capabilities on the tourism industry has attracted increasing attention.
Previous research has evaluated the usability of the cloud infrastructure capabilities
(Pierdicca et al., 2019; Yokkhun and Papasratorn, 2018); when users perceive accessibility,
simple navigation and visual appeal, the overall travel quality for users will improve. The
cloud infrastructure function is the ICT department’s ability to provide a wide range of cloud
infrastructure services to support the e-commerce business process of tourism business; with
excellent cloud infrastructure, back-end integration and ICT human resources can improve
overall tourism business operations.

3.2 The competitive advantage of tourism products

Product competitive advantage refers to the perceived advantage of a product over
competing products. It includes the product quality, technical performance, and the degree to

TOE Resource
dependence

Cloud H1 Competitive
infrastructure H5
capabilities advantage of
H2 tourism products
Online consumption
value of tourists

End-user Supplier
H3
devices integration H6
Figure 2.
H4
Research model
which the product meets customer needs with unique functions (Zhao et al., 2021; Ramayah Advantage of
et al., 2020). Compared with other products, travel-related information is related to quality, tourism SMEs
problem-solving, innovation, and technical performance. This is also the overall concept of
product design quality, covering the superiority, uniqueness and product function
applicability.
Research has shown that of the many driving factors of new product performance,
competitive product advantage has the most significant impact (Tian et al., 2020; Cui and Wu,
2017). Therefore, product competitive advantage is the primary determinant of market 1151
success. Existing literature on ICT in the tourism business indicates that e-commerce in the
tourism business must provide value-added services and develop niche products, such as
unique packages, custom tour groups and personalized services, enhancing tourism product
competitive advantage.
The cloud infrastructure should be able to utilize heterogeneous travel-related information
and provide related tourism products based on queries or user data. Data collection and
analysis require custom cloud infrastructure, consisting of data storage, management and
analysis tools. According to dynamic capability theory, consumers require online travel-
related information sources to provide recommended travel and travel-related information
and to have the ability to update and filter that information while simultaneously sustaining
competitive product advantage. The complexity of the cloud infrastructure is a significant
factor in the successful use of tourism products that can meet the needs and preferences of
consumers. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:
H1. The cloud solutions of tourism SMEs positively affect the competitive advantage of
tourism products.

3.3 Supplier integration

Supplier integration refers to companies building partnerships with suppliers and building
cross-organizational strategies, synchronized processes, policies and actions to achieve
typical value (Shi and Tsai, 2020; Ustundag and Ungan, 2020). Supplier integration includes
information and product flow, control and planning, active partnerships and trust and
commitment between buyers and sellers (Jajja et al., 2018). The buyer regards the primary
supplier as a strategic partner and develops technical and management capabilities, and
these additional functions are used in product development, production and delivery.
Research has shown that supplier integration can meet rapidly changing needs, thereby
enabling tourism businesses to provide unique and competitive commodity prices and a
diverse portfolio of tourism products (Lee et al., 2021). Once supplier integration is established
in the transaction process between tourism businesses, technical knowledge quickly becomes
essential to implementing strategic procurement (Gocen et al., 2017; Simeoni and Cassia,
2019). Other studies have stated that higher levels of strategic sourcing skills will yield higher
levels of supplier integration (Dragan et al., 2018). Sharing knowledge is the key to integrating
production plans, synchronizing transactional activities and making joint decisions in the
tourism supply chain. Therefore, supplier integration is imperative for SMEs to achieve the
strategic plan goals.
SMEs should continuously improve tourism product innovation, enhance global
competitiveness and increase tourism market share. Therefore, SMEs must continue to
upgrade cloud infrastructure and collaborate with travel-related suppliers to ensure lower
costs and increased customer value. The application of cloud infrastructure has a significant
impact on supplier integration because it can improve SMEs’ tourism information processing
capabilities, shortening decision-making time, expanding the range of available databases,
regulating travel-related information flow and promoting the supply of aviation companies
and transportation providers. Therefore, adequate cloud infrastructure provides a platform for
BPMJ all suppliers to exchange travel-related information and integrate contrasting functions to
28,4 reduce the complexity of tasks brought about by integration activities. Therefore, hypothesis 2
is as follows.
H2. The cloud solutions of tourism SMEs positively affect the integration of tourism
businesses and suppliers.

1152 3.4 End-user device

In terms of end-user equipment, mobile applications have become the leading equipment for
mobile e-commerce. Mobile applications have mobile functions, appropriate processing and
storage capacity, appropriate video and audio displays, standardized keyboards and
broadband communication networks with high transmission speeds (Corno et al., 2019; Min
et al., 2019). With mobile terminal user equipment and communication networks, consumers
will use mobile commerce, making mobile applications the first choice for mobile e-commerce
(Maceli et al., 2019; Liang et al., 2017). The process of end-user device connection in the SMEs
will focus on product integration to solve vertical tourism supply chain integration, or the
recent integration of products and infrastructure, and effectively integrate tourism products
scattered in different areas.
Previous research has shown that end-user device is a crucial prerequisite for improving
the shopping experience and gaining a competitive advantage for business (Chen et al., 2014).
A superior level of end-user device connection will help consumers analyze and explore
complex travel decisions without making a transaction (Avdiji et al., 2020).
SMEs’ end-user device connection facilitates tourists’ transactions and the collection,
combination and filtering of travel-related information. In summary, SMEs can quickly
modify online tourism product capabilities to meet unique consumer needs due to the
increasing importance of business information links in tourism e-commerce. Therefore, we
propose hypothesis 3.
H3. The end-user device connecting the tourism SMEs positively affects the competitive
advantage of the tourism products.
Business information links are a key component of supplier integration (Sewchurran et al.,
2019). Higher end-user device connection capabilities make companies tend to exchange
proprietary information with supply chain partners. By integrating suppliers, SMEs can
request all manner of travel-related information. SMEs see ICT can contribute to business
value and integrate effective ICT connections to improve the integration of materials flowing
between supply chain partners. In this way, SMEs can share all travel-related information
with their suppliers. This is classified according to the level of shared travel-related
information: transaction, operation and strategy. Therefore, we propose hypothesis 4.
H4. The end-user device connecting the tourism SMEs positively affects the integration
of the tourism businesses and suppliers.

3.5 Online consumption value of tourists

Online consumption value is referred to the overall evaluation of the benefits and costs of the
tourist experience (Kaur et al., 2018; Kastenholz et al., 2018), based on emotions such as
enjoyable experience, pleasure, and desire that the tourist feels in the process of using tourism
products.
Research has proven that the online consumption value of tourists is more closely related
to emotional or experiential aspects, and hedonic values are positively influenced by tourist
behavior (Ku and Chen, 2020; Khairi et al., 2019; Tussyadiah and Zach, 2017). The design
credibility of mobile applications has become more aligned with consumer hedonic value for
online shopping, making the shopping experience and the final purchase enjoyable.
 This fully proves that the human-computer interaction between tourism e-commerce and Advantage of
user experience may affect consumers’ future expectations and other service providers’ tourism SMEs
expectations. In addition, the online consumption value of tourists affects their satisfaction
and loyalty. Product competitive advantage has the greatest impact among the many drivers
of new tourism product performance. In addition, the credibility of website design must meet
tourist needs, and the tourism product content must have an attractive and pleasant
atmosphere to create a unique, exciting, and customized journey for each tourist. Therefore,
proposal hypothesis 5 is as follows. 1153
H5. The competitive advantage of tourism products positively affects the online
consumption value of tourists.
Prior research stated tourism products span a variety of services such as flight tickets,
accommodation, transportation, dining, and shopping (Fang et al., 2017); e-commerce of SMEs
connects the components of tourism products and services to the distribution and operation
of final products in specific tourist destinations (Zhu et al., 2019). E-commerce of SMEs must
facilitate suppliers to integrate link purchase activities to form production plans and procure
products and services promptly to increase delivery to the consumer.
Through the mobile application of tourism businesses, tourists recognize those transaction
procedures are accurate, reliable and legal through tourism businesses’ mobile applications,
providing higher tourist Consumption value. Therefore, we propose hypothesis 6 as follows.
H6. The integration of suppliers within the tourism SMEs positively affects the online
consumption value of tourists.

4. Research method
This study uses stratified random sampling. First, according to the Tourism Bureau of the
Ministry of Communications statistics, there are three types of travel agencies in Taiwan:
88.9% are direct sale tour operators, 6.88% are retail travel agents and 4.13% are
wholesalers. Over 60% of travel agencies comprise fewer than 20 employees and belong to
tourism SMEs. First, we identified which SMEs already own EMSs systems collaborating
with ERP, and we then contacted each key person in charge of EMSs’ marketing. Second, we
requested that each tourism SMEs forward 10 research questionnaires to customers who had
purchased products online. In total, 200 SMEs participated in the research. They distributed
2,000 surveys, of which we received 412 valid responses. Table 1 lists the survey questions.
The survey questions were adapted from the peer-reviewed literature in the previous study.
The method to measure cloud infrastructure originated from the research of Torres et al. (2018),
the method to measure end-user devices originated from the research of Chen et al. (2014), the
method to measure the competitive advantage of tourism products originated from Cui and
Wu (2017) project, the method to measure supplier integration originated from Jajja et al. (2018).
The method to measure online consumption value originated from Chen et al. (2019).
Two professors of tourism management and two professors of information management
verified the project and validated the accuracy of the translation. We pre-evaluated the
Chinese version of the draft questionnaire with 40 participants with the online shopping
experience and revised the wording of certain survey items accordingly. Table 2 below shows
the range of responses. The scale uses the five-point Likert scale to allow interviewees to rate
their responses: from 1, which means strongly disagree to 5, which means strongly agree.

5. Analytical method
5.1 Tests of the measuring scales
We followed the two-step procedure of structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the
survey data (Estiri et al., 2021); accordingly, confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze
BPMJ Item Frequency Percentage (%)
28,4
Gender Male 200 48.5
Female 212 51.5
Age Under 30 years 27 6.6
31–40 years 133 32.3
41–50 years 196 47.6
1154 Over 51 years 56 13.5
Education High school 59 14.3
University 307 74.5
Graduate school 46 11.2
Shopping frequency from Under 5 times 289 70.1
Tourism SEMs Over 6 times 123 29.9
Income per year (NT$) Under 500,000- 65 15.8
500,001–1,000,000 111 26.9
1,000,001–1,500,000- 91 22.1
Table 1. 1,500,001–2,000,000- 90 21.8
Sample Over 2,000,001 55 13.4

Construct Item description

Cloud infrastructure capabilities (CIC) adapted from Torres et al. (2018)

CIC1 The data underlying cloud service from the travel agent is accurate
CIC2 The data underlying cloud solutions from the travel agent are comprehensive
CIC3 The data underlying cloud solutions from the travel agent are correct
CIC4 The data underlying cloud solutions from the travel agent are consistent
End-user devices (EUD) adapted from Chen et al. (2014)
EUD1 The mobile shopping from EMSs of a travel agent with a convenient overall interface for me
EUD2 The mobile shopping from EMSs of a travel agent with a convenient screen for me
EUD3 The mobile shopping from EMSs of a travel agent with a convenient input interface overall for me
The competitive advantage of tourism products (PA) adapted from Cui and Wu (2017)
PA1 The quality of the tourism product was of higher quality than competing products
PA2 The tourism product was superior to competing products in terms of meeting my needs
PA3 The tourism product offered unique benefits to me
PA4 The tourism product performed better than competitors’ products
Supplier integration (SI) adapted from Jajja et al. (2018)
SI1 The travel agent is transferring my information to their key suppliers as necessary
SI2 The travel agent is developing collaborative approaches with their key suppliers for tourists
SI3 The travel agent joint decision making with their key suppliers for tourists
Online consumption value (OCV) adapted from Chen et al. (2019)
OCV1 This online shopping experience of the mobile app was truly a joy for tourists
OCV2 I continued to shop on the mobile app not because I had to, but because I wanted to
OCV3 Compared to other things I could have done, the time spent on this online shopping of mobile app
of the travel agent was truly enjoyable
OCV4 I enjoyed this online shopping experience on the mobile app of the travel agent for its own sake,
not just for the items I may have purchased
Table 2. OCV5 During the online shopping experience of the mobile app of the travel agent, I felt the excitement of
Item in survey the hunt
the convergent and discriminant validity of the survey items using the LISREL 8.8, as shown Advantage of
in Table 3, all the λ values of loading in the CFA analysis exceeded 0.5. tourism SMEs
Furthermore, the construct reliability statistics ranged between 0.89 and 0.92. The
average variance extracted (AVE) of the remaining constructs was more significant than 0.5,
as shown in Table 4.

5.2 Test of the structural model 1155

The SEM approach evaluated the hypothesized model as shown in Figure 2. The value of the
eight common model fit indexes measured the overall goodness-of-fit of the model. We
calculated GFI as 0.89, IFI as 0.92, CFI as 0.93, AGFI as 0.83, RMR as 0.056, RMSEA as 0.072,
PNFI as 0.72 and PGFI as 0.64. These results indicate an acceptable fit for the model.
As presented in Table 5, three hypotheses are supported, and hypothesis 1 is not supported in
this study.

Mean Standard deviation Cronbach’s alpha after deleted Factor loading

CIC1 4.039 0.7944 0.935 0.82

CIC2 4.053 0.7429 0.936 0.79
CIC3 4.058 0.7359 0.936 0.79
CIC4 3.927 0.8072 0.937 0.72
EUD1 4.080 0.7454 0.936 0.81
EUD2 4.012 0.7907 0.936 0.85
EUD3 4.136 0.7711 0.934 0.94
PA1 3.755 0.7419 0.936 0.78
PA2 4.066 0.6997 0.935 0.85
PA3 4.051 0.6726 0.935 0.85
PA4 4.017 0.6577 0.936 0.84
SI1 4.061 0.6307 0.935 0.78
SI2 4.036 0.6130 0.936 0.72
SI3 4.066 0.6263 0.936 0.77
OCV1 3.917 0.8093 0.936 0.74
OCV2 4.097 0.7450 0.934 0.75
OCV3 4.141 0.6428 0.935 0.82
OCV4 4.039 0.7069 0.934 0.79
OCV5 4.126 0.6607 0.934 0.81 Table 3.
Note(s): CIC stands for cloud infrastructure capabilities, EUD for end-user devices, PA for product advantage Confirmation factor
of tourism products, SI for supplier integration and OCV for online consumption value analysis

Mean Standard deviation CIC EUD PA SI OCV AVE

CIC 4.02 0.662 0.80 0.64

EUD 4.08 0.713 0.56 0.87 0.75
PA 3.96 0.614 0.52 0.45 0.83 0.69
SI 4.05 0.543 0.51 0.49 0.67 0.76 0.58
OCV 4.05 0.612 0.49 0.55 0.71 0.66 0.78 0.61
Note(s): 1. The main diagonal shows the square root of the AVE (averaged variance extracted)
2. Significance at the p < 0.05 level is shown in the italic hold Table 4.
3. CIC stands for cloud infrastructure capabilities, EUD for end-user devices, PA for product advantage of Measurement model
tourism products, SI for supplier integration and OCV for online consumption value estimation
BPMJ Cloud infrastructure can link tourism SMEs with innovative tourism products, further
28,4 supported by EMS connecting, to provide tourists with cost-effective tourism products. The
SMEs’ cloud solutions positively affect the tourism product’s product advantage. (t 5 6.71**,
p < 0.01), and the integration of tourism SMEs and their suppliers (t 5 6.13**, p < 0.01). The
end-user device connecting the tourism SMEs positively affects the product advantage of
tourism products (t 5 2.14*, p < 0.05) and the tourism SMEs’ supplier integration (t 5 4.31**,
p < 0.01). The end-user device connecting the tourism SMEs’ capabilities are compared with
1156 long-term e-commerce operations strategies. The study results showed that the product
advantage of tourism products in the tourism SMEs positively affects the online consumption
value of tourists (t 5 9.65***, p < 0.001); moreover, this study’s hypothesis that the tourism
SMEs supplier integration will positively affect the online consumption value of tourists
(t 5 7.48**, p < 0.01) is supported. The results of hypothesis testing are shown in Figure 3.

6. Conclusions and implications

Our research results demonstrate the reliability and validity of the proposed model. In
addition, the SEM analysis allowed us to understand better consumers’ willingness to buy
tourism products from online tourism businesses. The cloud solutions of ICT infrastructure
assisting the tourism supply chain in developing next-generation functions will provide a
significant foundation for future tourism SME applications and EMSs integration.
For tourism SEMs, cloud solutions allow adjusting strategies and procedures for tourism
supply chain management. This differs from the performance of firms that previously
introduced ERP and EMSs. With the rise of e-commerce in the tourism businesses, tourists
appreciate the ability to access all travel-related information in one place. Furthermore, EMSs
can help tourism SMEs to increase their competitiveness. The study results indicate that
Taiwan’s tourism SMEs can find a competitive advantage by leveraging cloud solutions of
ICT infrastructure and mobile applications.

Hypothesis t-value Results

H1 Cloud infrastructure capabilities → Product advantage of the tourism product 6.71** Supported
H2 Cloud infrastructure capabilities → Supplier’s integration 6.13** Supported
H3 End-user device → Product advantage of the tourism product 2.14* Supported
H4 End-user device → Supplier’s integration 4.31** Supported
H5 Product advantage of tourism products → Online consumption value of 9.65*** Supported
tourists
Table 5. H6 Supplier’s integration. → Online consumption value of tourists 7.48** Supported
Hypothesis and results Note(s): *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

Cloud 6.71** Competitive

infrastructure
capabilities advantage of 9.65***
tourism products Online consumption
6.13** 2 value of tourists
R = 30.0%

End-user device 2.14* Supplier integration

7.48*** R2 = 59.6%
Figure 3.
Results of hypothesis 4.31**
testing
R2 = 32.1%
6.1 Implication for research Advantage of
This study provides empirical results of TOE and resource dependence on the online tourism SMEs
consumption value of tourists. Using TOE, cloud infrastructure plays a significant role for
SMEs. The integration with mobile services optimizes the ability of tourists to choose tourism
products quickly and easily. Furthermore, the competitive advantage of tourism products,
along with functional mobile applications, increases the online consumption value of tourists
by shortening the product purchasing process. Likewise, tourists can optimize their choices
from the resource dependence perspective by comparing and evaluating product information, 1157
and tourists also benefit from mobile payments.
Moreover, the study results support using TOE and resource dependence theory in empirical
research on tourism SMEs’ e-commerce activities. From the TOE perspective, connecting end-
user devices of tourism SMEs can facilitate the integration of tourism SMEs with suppliers and
gain a competitive advantage in tourism products. In addition, cloud solutions of ICT
infrastructure enable tourism SMEs to design and collaboratively develop tourism products or
services more efficiently for tourists. Specifically, this study indicated the competitive
advantage of tourism products and supplier integration gain a competitive advantage in a
competitive electronic tourism market based on the perspective of resource dependence theory, the
finding points out competitive advantage of tourism products provided by tourism e-commerce
can align tourism SMEs’ activities with those associated with successful tourism businesses.
From the TOE perspective, tourism SMEs can also leverage cloud infrastructure to develop and
manage their business models while responding to the external environment and competition
changes, the findings of the study point out related concepts in the tourism supply chain
field and positioning tourism SMEs will react to market competition via EMSs.

6.2 Implication for practice

SMEs can partner with wholesalers to better respond to unforeseen changes in the tourism
market; the strategic importance of cloud infrastructure to SMEs has also increased.
Additionally, leveraging EMSs to connect with end-user devices and suppliers in the travel
supply chain is increasingly important for tourism SMEs.
First, cloud solutions of ICT infrastructure for tourism SMEs enhance tourism product
development, innovation, and production for tourism partners. Moreover, when tourism
products are complex, supplier and process integration increase supply chain agility, helping
to improve tourism SMEs’ sales performance. In addition to the technical benefits of cloud
infrastructure, tourism SMEs can also enhance their business capabilities. Tourism SMEs
can then leverage collaborating suppliers, improved transactional flexibility, and the ability
to quickly adapt to tourism market changes.
Cloud solutions of ICT infrastructure provide convenient channels for consumers to
compare tourism products for multiple tourism SMEs and complete online orders
instantaneously. The resulting flexibility of the tourism supply chain helps to improve the
collaboration and cooperation of the tourism supply chains and enhances product and service
competitive advantage. For tourism SMEs operation, complete adoption of cloud
infrastructure helps supply partner collaboration and simplifies decision-making for
improved tourism product sales.
Second, for cloud infrastructure designers, EMSs should be able to work with ERPs and
suppliers to allow supply chain members to easily access travel transaction history to
manage travel products and services for tourism SMEs. In addition, the management
capabilities of cloud infrastructures need to strengthen cash flow-related transaction
reporting to facilitate tourism SMEs’ operations and assess profits; the designer also provides
a mechanism for tourism SMEs to change order information more quickly and
synchronously. Utilize cloud infrastructure to convert static data input into data analysis
function output so that tourism SMEs can quickly transform tourism supply chain services.
BPMJ The ever-changing cloud infrastructure ensures that tourism SMEs grow with the ever-
28,4 evolving tourism supply chain.
The end-user device connecting the tourism SMEs can reduce operating costs and
enhance competitiveness. This connection enables tourism SMEs to quickly offer new
market-based wholesale products to consumers. Furthermore, tourism SMEs can gain their
understanding and provide competitive advantages of tourism product distribution via
mobile service, thus increasing company performance.
1158 Third, the sophisticated advantage of e-commerce products is a distinguishing factor of
successful SMEs. SMEs can create their specific competitive advantages through cloud
infrastructure analysis and prediction capabilities. E-commerce of tourism SMEs directly
affects organizational agility and is mediated through the development of strategic partner
relationships with wholesalers. Likewise, tourism SMEs can develop tourism products,
design product advantages and improve service processes to respond quickly to volatile
markets. Tourism SMEs will develop collaborative approaches with key suppliers and thus
benefit from increased tourism supply chain efficiency; mobile applications for tourism SMEs
should be combined with applications with the necessary analytical capabilities for the
supply chain to obtain real-time market analysis.
The tourism supply chain provides a competitive product advantage and develops
information analysis functions to help tourism SMEs complete business transactions, such as
online tourism product marketing analyses and demographic Analysis of Tourism
Consumption. Data analysis functions based on cloud infrastructure, tourism SMEs
connect EMS and wholesalers’ ERP, exchange proprietary information and collaborate to
promote various tourism products.
Finally, the research results show that tourism SMEs can enhance their competitiveness in
the tourism market by enhancing business process integration with wholesalers through
cloud infrastructure. The full use of cloud infrastructure and mobile applications has
increased tourism SMEs’ system investment and maintenance costs. The exchange of
information and resources between partners can ensure quick responses to the rapidly
changing market by reducing delivery times, increasing flexibility and information accuracy
and improving tourism business performance and tourist services. Simultaneously, tourism
SMEs should still develop sufficient supplier integration capabilities with wholesalers to
achieve high performance.
6.2.1 Limitation and future research. This study has some limitations; the technical
capabilities of cloud architecture in the tourism supply chain involve technical exclusivity.
It focused on specific EMSs for specific tourism SMEs; there are a variety of exclusive EMSs
in the tourism supply chain. As a result, further research should focus on diverse types of
EMSs to evaluate the effects of each type. In addition, the business model under the cloud
architecture will change due to technological capabilities; future research could explore the
relationship between online business reputation and tourism product advantages.

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About the authors

Hsin-Yi Huang is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Information
Management at the Soochow University, Taiwan. She holds a Ph.D. in Information Management from
the National Central University, Taiwan. Her research interests include electronic commerce, online 1163
consumer behavior and social network services. Her research has appeared in the European Journal of
Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, Electronic Commerce Research Applications,
International Journal of Information Management, Computers in Human Behavior, Online Information
Review and Journal of Electronic Commerce Research.
Edward C.S. Ku is a professor in the Department of Travel Management at the National Kaohsiung
University of Hospitality and Tourism. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Graduate School of
Business Administration, National Central University. His research interests include electronic
commerce, supply chain management, knowledge management, and information systems applied in
travel management. His papers have been published in Internet Research, Online Information Research,
The Service Industries Journal, Service Business, Journal of Air Transport Management, Journal of
Hospitality and Tourism Research, International Journal of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel and
Tourism Marketing, International Journal of Hospitality Management and others. Edward C.S. Ku is the
corresponding author and can be contacted at: edwardku@mail.nkuht.edu.tw
Chun-Der Chen is a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Ming Chuan
University, Taiwan. He received a Ph.D. degree in Information Management from the National Central
University of Taiwan in 2007. His research interests focus on online marketing, customer relationship
management, supply chain management and organizational behavior. His major publications have been
in the areas of e-business and management of IS, and his paper has appeared in Online Information
Review, Telematics and Informatics, Journal of Information Management, Management Review,
Behavior and Information Technology, Journal of Computer Information Systems and other journals. He
has served on several academic journals and conferences as a chair or reviewer and is a consultant to
government agencies and enterprises.

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