Mobile technology impacting the hospitality industry small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa

Abstract

Mobile technologies are increasingly being used for work purposes in several domains, such as tourism, banking, sales and marketing (Sheng, Nah & Siau, 2005). Vic Pynn, executive vice president of Amadeus Americas, emphasizes the technology aspect (which is core to this research study) with an observation for hotel business (a major portion of the study population): “Hotel brands gearing up for growth will face significant obstacles without integrated technology that can help them keep up with their guests' needs and the marketplace overall…The future belongs to hotel brands that develop competitive advantages using technology to drive operational efficiency, time-tomarket speed and higher guest satisfaction.” The benefits of technology are not uniform or always positive for all business operations, even within one industrial sector. Technology is the firm’s resource base – ICT and people (as well as their networks internal and/or external to the organization) – determine the impact within a given environment and organizational context (Hu & Quan, 2009). People and their networks are relevant in this study because not only are resources a challenge for the hospitality SMME (small, micro and medium enterprise) sector but resources also impact on the sum-total of the business environment (e.g. political, economic, social and technology issues) they operate in. Regarding challenges, increased competition due to globalisation resulted in the downsizing and concentration among SMMEs, particularly for developing countries like South Africa that is characterised by the ever-growing digital divide between the rich and the poor. The opportunities and challenges faced by the SMME can be met with different types of action, including the recommendations of this study. This research study investigated the impact of mobile technology on operational success (operations, supply chain and production) of the hospitality industry SMMEs in South Africa, under the prevailing socio-economic conditions. The impact of mobile technology was investigated by studying perceived usability of mobile technology, perceived fit for mobile working context and perceived impact on the firm’s work productivity (Vuolle et al; 2009), as measures of organisational performance; the status and use of key ICT technologies and applications, and major factors constraining the SMME’s business success. The results suggest that, although extensive mobile penetration may be high and so is the belief that it enhances organisational performance, the net impact is not yet substantial, owing to challenges such as lack of access to essential technologies and applications, as well as several constraining factors such as cost of equipment, availability of technical support, infrastructure and skills.