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The on‐line purchase of travel related products has become an important sector to researchers to study the business success of the Internet. Early indications suggested that the Internet was likely to alter the travel industry from a structural perspective leading to a more consumer responsive environment. In this paper we examine the on‐line travel market and determine where the benefits have been for consumers and where problems still exist. We use theories related to market mechanisms to help assess the impact of the Internet on the travel industry.

Many academics are being asked to develop virtual learning environments as part of their workload. It could be suggested that they are ill‐prepared to do so and hence are opening themselves up to criticism from students. This paper examines the concept of service quality which is used in the business world and explores its relevance for assessing on‐line learning environments. A framework of issues is presented to highlight issues and provide suggestions for improving the perception of service quality. The intangibility of the service and the service delivery channel create obstacles in the design and support of virtual learning environments. However, if instructors clearly define the service they are offering, effectively manage student expectations and use a range of methods to improve service quality they can go a long way in delivering service quality in their courses.

This paper discusses the attitude and views of travel consultants on the impact of Internet related technologies on their future employment and their abilities to cope with the threat of dis‐intermediation. The authors anticipate that changes in the travel distribution process brought about by the Internet and other technologies will result in retail travel agencies experiencing lower business volume and hence difficulty in maintaining business viability. Against this background, a number of questions need to be addressed. What is the attitude of consultants towards new technologies in travel distribution? Are travel consultants prepared to meet the new challenges? What will be the role of travel consultants? Using a survey of 102 travel consultants, the paper shows the lack of awareness and negative attitude displayed by travel consultants in this rapidly changing distribution environment. The paper further suggests measures and training programs that could be undertaken to address the situation.

In this chapter, the authors undertake a systematic review of the literature to identify research exploring the use of new information and communication technologies (ICT). New ICT include the use of the Internet, mobile communications, and social technologies. The authors find that while interest in the area is increasing, especially among marketing and information systems scholars, there seems to be far less research interest among international business (IB) and strategy scholars. This chapter provides a summary of the research that has been done and discusses some potential future research areas that IB and strategy researchers might wish to pursue. Among these projects are investigating the use of ICT as a tool to aid the internationalization process, improve location choice and entry mode decisions, and identify and create a sustainable competitive advantage. The use of ICT in business is pervasive; As research scholars, we need to build these technologies into our theories and research to help managers determine what works and where certain technologies can help create better performing firms.

The world of business is being profoundly transformed by the Internet and electronic commerce. The rapid advancement of Internet technology and its applications holds promise for the expansion of business opportunities in the global digital economy. Internet systems support a world‐wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination and a medium for electronic commerce between organizations and customers across countries. Describes research that leads to the derivation of a diffusion model of Internet systems, comprising four key dimensions: external market factors, external technical factors, internal organization factors, and internal systems factors. The intention is for this model to provide a theoretical base for further research on electronic commerce and Internet technology diffusion.

The study aims to use the inter‐relationship between market orientation and e‐marketing in order to investigate alternative mechanisms through which both contribute to tourism services performance.

Direct and indirect effects of market orientation on performance are examined using structural equation modelling in a sample of 216 tourism firms.

Market orientation is found to contribute to performance through a dual mechanism in that it contributes both directly and indirectly, through e‐marketing, to the relationship.

The results indicate that academics and managers should consider the inter‐relationships between multiple sources of competitive advantage when looking for explanations of services performance and particularly, tourism services.

This is the first study, to the authors' knowledge, that investigates the inter‐relationship between market orientation and e‐marketing on service performance within the context of travel and tourism services.

To provide an investigation of e‐commerce development via an examination of the forces shaping web site development among intermediaries in an extended supply chain.

A two‐stage research design combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Unstructured interviews conducted in the spirit of phenomenology elicited a range of critical incidents of web site development which were further examined via a quantitative survey of intermediaries to test for relationships between critical incidents and web site adoption.

Adopter groups were identified which showed statistically significant differences in terms of the critical incidents driving web site development as well as differences in terms of key company characteristics. The timing of web site adoption was also found to affect the subsequent use of the technology, with early adopters making more advanced use.

Limitations associated with the use of retrospective data and respondents’ abilities to recall events, although attempts were made to minimise these through external validation.

Provides useful insights for providers of financial services in understanding how to progress the adoption of web site technology by intermediaries, suggesting the development of networks of relationships involving IT suppliers rather than simply focusing on relationships with preferred intermediaries.

Addresses a research gap in terms of business‐to‐business e‐commerce and offers practical guidance on how to widen participation in the financial services supply chain.

This article aims to investigate whether intermediaries reduce loss aversion in the context of a high‐involvement non‐frequently purchased hedonic product (tourism packages).

The study incorporates the reference‐dependent model into a multinomial logit model with random parameters, which controls for heterogeneity and allows representation of different correlation patterns between non‐independent alternatives.

Differentiated loss aversion is found: consumers buying high‐involvement non‐frequently purchased hedonic products are less loss averse when using an intermediary than when dealing with each provider separately and booking their services independently. This result can be taken as identifying consumer‐based added value provided by the intermediaries.

Knowing the effect of an increase in their prices is crucial for tourism collective brands (e.g. “sun and sea”, “inland”, “green destinations”, “World Heritage destinations”). This is especially applicable nowadays on account of the fact that many destinations have lowered prices to attract tourists (although, in the future, they will have to put prices back up to their normal levels). The negative effect of raising prices can be absorbed more easily via indirect channels when compared to individual providers, as the influence of loss aversion is lower for the former than the latter. The key implication is that intermediaries can – and should – add value in competition with direct e‐tailing.

Research on loss aversion in retailing has been prolific, exclusively focused on low‐involvement and frequently purchased products without distinguishing the direct or indirect character of the distribution channel. However, less is known about other types of products such as high‐involvement non‐frequently purchased hedonic products. This article focuses on the latter and analyzes different patterns of loss aversion in direct and indirect channels.