Abstract
This paper addresses the research question of what the capability required by a tourism company for transforming the business towards digital era is. In order to achieve the goal, a selected literature review of digital enterprise management and eTourism management is conducted, and the multiple case study on two Finnish online tools for enriching the literature and clarifying the capabilities more concretely was employed. Through the seeking and combining of insights from the above-mentioned literature and cases, the paper provides a concept of digital capability including various dimensions for further tourism research. Initial findings indicate that the digital capabilities fall into two major categories: meta-digital capabilities and specific digital capabilities. Both categories cover several subdimensions. Particularly, the individual-level specific digital capabilities and collaborative digital capabilities across company boundaries warrant further attention.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bonnet, D., Ferraris, P., Westerman, G., & Afee, A. (2012). Digital Transformation Review 2. https://www.capgemini.com/resource-file-access/resource/pdf/DigitalTransformationReviewEdition_2.pdf (Accessed August 18, 2015).
Chaffey, D. (2010). Applying organizational capability models to assess the maturity of digital-marketing governance. Journal of Marketing Management, 26(3–4), 187–196.
D’Ambra, J., & Mistilis, N. (2010). Assessing the E-capability of visitor information centers. Journal of Travel Research, 49(2), 206–215.
Dubois, A., & Gadde, L. E. (2002). Systematic combining: An abductive approach to case research. Journal of Business Research, 55, 553–560.
Dul, J., & Hak, T. (2008). Case study methodology in business research. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Fitzgerald, M., Kruschwitz, N., Bonnet, D. & Welch, M. (2013). Embracing digital technology: A new strategic imperative. MIT Sloan Management Review, Research Report 2013.
George, A. L., & Bennett, A. (2005). Case studies and theory development in the social sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Gretzel, U., Fesenmaier, D. R., Formica, S., & O’Leary, J. T. (2006). Searching for the future: Challenges faced by destination marketing organizations. Journal of Travel Research, 45(Nov.), 116–126.
Ilmarinen, V., & Koskela, K. (2015). Digitalisaatio: Yritysjohdon käsikirja. Helsinki: Talentum.
Koskinen, I., Alasuutari, P., & Peltonen, T. (2005). Laadulliset menetelmät kauppatieteissä. Tampere: Vastapaino.
Mistillis, N., Buhalis, D., & Gretzel, U. (2014). Future eDestination marketing: Perspective of an Australian tourism stakeholder network. Journal of Travel Research, 53(6), 778–790.
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Reino, S., Frew, A., & Mitsche, N. (2014). A benchmarking framework for eTourism capability of destinations’ industries. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 5(2), 126–142.
Silverman, D. (2003). Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook. London: Sage.
Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533.
Tuomi, J., & Sarajärvi, A. (2003). Laadullinen tutkimus ja sisällönanalyysi. Jyväskylä: Tammi.
Uhl, A., & Gollenia, M. L. A. (Eds.). (2014). Digital enterprise transformation: A business-driven approach to leveraging innovative IT. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing.
Uhl, A., Born, M., Koschmider, A., & Janasz, T. (2014a). The importance of technological trends and how to exploit them for business excellence. In A. Uhl & L. A. Gollenia (Eds.), Digital enterprise transformation (pp. 1–25). England: Gower.
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Yuan, Y.-L., Gretzel, U., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2003). Internet technology use by American convention and visitors bureaus. Journal of Travel Research, 41(3), 240–255.
Yuan, Y.-L., Gretzel, U., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2006). The role of information technology use in American convention and visitors bureaus. Tourism Management, 26, 326–341.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Meriläinen, K., Kukkamäki, J. (2016). Concept of Digital Capability in Businesses: Demonstration by a Case Study on Finnish Online Tools. In: Inversini, A., Schegg, R. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2016. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28231-2_53
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28231-2_53
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28230-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28231-2
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)