Entrepreneurial marketing orientation: the influence on the adoption and use of digital marketing technology in small tourism businesses.

Abstract

Digital marketing technology has become an integral part of modern society and has changed communication between businesses and their customers; a change that is rooted in the speed of the evolution of digital technology and its adoption by consumers and businesses. Tourism customers are increasingly using mobile and online technology to plan and decide their destination and accommodation. As a result, small tourism business owner-managers need to change the way they digitally interact with their customers. Marketing as a practice continues to evolve and, as an academic discipline, requires research to understand the way that tourism businesses digitally engage with customers. Entrepreneurial marketing provides the basis for a conceptual framework to identify how small tourism businesses may address the challenges of marketing communication in the digital era. The impact of an entrepreneurial marketing orientation within the owner-manager on digital marketing technology adoption and use is being studied for the first time within a tourism and hospitality context. There are clear reasons for small businesses to respond to and embrace digital marketing technology – the problem is that many are not. Adopting and integrating digital technology can facilitate marketing communication and related business processes. However, the owner-manager is required to develop a culture or mindset to maximise the benefits digital marketing technology can provide and this will inevitably require some element of change within the business. The small tourism business owner-manager is the catalyst for change within the organisation and plays a central role in developing digital competences and integrating marketing technology into existing communication practices. This study employs a quantitative, exploratory, research approach whereby the literature review has informed the development of a conceptual marketing-led framework, constructs, variables and relationships for a survey investigation. There are two outcomes from this study to both theory and practice. Firstly, a contribution has been made to entrepreneurial marketing theory and small tourism business literature by exploring the extent to which an entrepreneurial marketing orientation influences the adoption and use of digital marketing technology at a higher and lower order level. This brings a unique perspective on entrepreneurial marketing theory and, for the first time, is applied to small tourism businesses. Secondly, the research may inform policy and practice through the use of the marketing-led framework and highlighting areas to focus on for greater digital marketing technology integration and in identifying areas for support.