Indian Journal of Finance

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Digitalization Opportunities for Tourism Micro-Entrepreneurship in South Africa : An Academic Gaze


Affiliations
1 Department of Tourism Management, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, 0183, South Africa
2 College of Business Economics, Johannesburg Business School, Johannesburg, 2092, South Africa

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Framed within the technology determinism and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, the study aimed to evaluate digitalization opportunities that could be explored by the tourism micro-entrepreneurs (TMEs) in South Africa. A question raised in this paper is how tourism micro-entrepreneurs can improve firms’ performance through digitalization, particularly in the South African context as a developing country. A systematic review of the literature on the digitalization of micro-entrepreneurs in an African context was conducted. The study reviewed 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals between 2017 and 2021. The literature analysis revealed that there is value in the digitalization of tourism micro-entrepreneurs. However, digitalization opportunities can only be realized through coordination and collaboration with relevant stakeholders. The findings revealed that developing a digital strategy could address the change in customers’ needs, the future of work, and the preservation of historical and cultural practices while investing in tourism intelligence and improving policy regulations. The paper contributed toward adding to the limited academic gaze on tourism micro-entrepreneurship in Africa by identifying strategic prospects in digitalization.

Keywords

Tourism Micro-Entrepreneurship, Digitalization, Technological Determinism, Tourism 4.0, Diffusion of Innovation, Digital Adoption Index.

JEL Classification Code : M13.

Paper Submission Date : December 30, 2021 ; Paper sent back for Revision : February 22, 2022 ; Paper Acceptance Date : July 15, 2022 ; Paper Published Online : December 15, 2022

User
Subscription Login to verify subscription
Notifications
Font Size

  • African Union. (2020, May 18). The digital transformation strategy for Africa (2020–2030). https://au.int/en/documents/20200518/digital-transformation-strategy-africa-2020-2030

  • Aly, H. (2022). Digital transformation, development and productivity in developing countries: Is artificial intelligence a curse or a blessing? Review of Economics and Political Science, 7(4), 238–256. https://doi.org/10.1108/reps-11-2019-0145

  • Arora, A. K., & Rathi, P. (2019). Determinants for the adoption of digitalization by manufacturing SMEs in India: An empirical study. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 12(8), 7–21. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2019/v12i8/146410

  • Bam, L., & Adao, V. (2019, September 05). South Africa's SMEs should be first in line for a digital upgrade. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/south-africas-smes-should-be-first-in-line-for-a-digital-upgrade/

  • Barann, B., Hermann, A., Cordes, A.-K., Chasin, F., & Becker, J. (2019). Supporting digital transformation in small and medium-sized enterprises: A procedure model involving publicly funded support units. In, Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 4977 – 4986. https://doi.org/10.24251/hicss.2019.598

  • Bhatti, A., Akram, H., Basit, H. M., Khan, A. U., Naqvi, S. M., & Bilal, M. (2020). E-commerce trends during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Future Generation Communication and Networking, 13(2), 1449–1452. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ahmed-Khan-67/publication/342736799_E-commerce_trends_during_COVID-19_Pandemic/links/5f04603c458515505091c291/E-commerce-trends-during-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf

  • Booking.com (2020). About Booking.com. https://www.booking.com/content/about.html?aid=355028;sid=9f81fe91619d4f441fc43bf92bc913e4

  • Bouwman, H., Nikou, S., & de Reuver, M. (2019). Digitalization, business models, and SMEs: How do business model innovation practices improve the performance of digitalizing SMEs? Telecommunications Policy, 43(9), 101828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2019.101828

  • Cenamor, J., Parida, V., & Wincent, J. (2019). How entrepreneurial SMEs compete through digital platforms: The roles of digital platform capability, network capability and ambidexterity. Journal of Business Research, 100, 196–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.03.035

  • Chaffey, D. (2014). Digital business and e-commerce management: Strategy, implementation and practice (6th ed.). Pearson Education.

  • Chakraborty, D., & Dash, G. (2022). 'The new normal' and the strategies of marketers to attract consumers. Indian Journal of Marketing, 52(1), 58–62. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2022/v52/i1/167652

  • Cohen, D., & Crabtree, B. (2006). Qualitative research guidelines project. http://www.qualres.org/HomeCrit-3814.html

  • Denner, M.-S., Püschel, L. C., & Röglinger, M. (2018). How to exploit the digitalization potential of business processes. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 60, 331–349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-017-0509-x

  • Department of Small Business Development. (2019). Government Gazette. Revised Schedule 1 of the National Definition of Small Enterprise in South Africa (Act No. 399 of 2019), 110. https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201903/423041gon399.pdf

  • Department of Tourism, Republic of South Africa. (2020, January). Tourism annual report 2019–20. https://www.tourism.gov.za/AboutNDT/Publications/Tourism%20Annual%20Report%202019-20.pdf

  • Department of Tourism, South African Government. (2020). South African tourism. https://www.gov.za/about-sa/tourism

  • Disse, S., & Sommer, C. (2020). Digitalisation and its impact on SME finance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reviewing the hype and actual developments (Discussion Paper No. 4/2020). http://hdl.handle.net/10419/215546

  • Dredge, D., Phi, G. T., Mahadevan, R., Meehan, E., & Popescu, E. (2019). Digitalisation in Tourism: In-depth analysis of challenges and opportunities. Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/33163/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/native

  • Dwyer, L. (2015). Globalization of tourism: Drivers and outcomes. Tourism Recreation Research, 40(3), 326–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2015.1075723

  • Firoiu, D., & Croitoru, A.-G. (2013). Tourism and tourism infrastructure from the perspective of technological changes. Romanian Economic and Business Review, 8(2), 93–103.

  • Foroudi, P., Gupta, S., Nazarian, A., & Duda, M. (2017). Digital technology and marketing management capability: Achieving growth in SMEs. Qualitative Market Research, 20(2), 230–246. https://doi.org/10.1108/qmr-01-2017-0014

  • Gabberty, J. W., & Vambery, R. G. (2008). How technological determinism shapes international marketing. International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER), 7(1). https://doi.org/10.19030/iber.v7i1.3206

  • Galal, S. (2022). South Africa: Mobile internet user penetration 2018–2027. https://www.statista.com/statistics/972866/south-africa-mobile-internet-penetration/

  • Galindo-Martín, M.-Á., Castaño-Martínez, M.-S., & Méndez-Picazo, M.-T. (2019). Digital transformation, digital dividends and entrepreneurship: A quantitative analysis. Journal of Business Research, 101, 522–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.014

  • Gandomi, A., & Haider, M. (2015). Beyond the hype: Big data concepts, methods, and analytics. International Journal of Information Management, 35(2), 137–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.10.007

  • Gupta, L., Mohapatra, A. K., & Goel, T. (2021). Digitalization progress of depositories in India: Evidence and outcome. Indian Journal of Research in Capital Markets, 8(1–2), 8–25. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijrcm/2021/v8i1-2/165085

  • Happ, É., & Ivancsó-Horváth, Z. (2018). Digital tourism is the challenge of future – A new approach to tourism. Knowledge Horizons - Economics, 10(2), 9–16. https://www.proquest.com/openview/11c3c9d3183b6d6d64be5cc5fb16960b/1?pqorigsite=gscholar&cbl=2032619

  • Horgan, D., Hackett, J., Westphalen, C. B., Kalra, D., Richer, E., Romao, M., Andreu, A. L., Lal, J. A., Bernini, C., Tumiene, B., Boccia, S., & Montserrat, A. (2020). Digitalisation and COVID-19: The perfect storm. Biomedicine Hub, 5(3), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1159/000511232

  • Internet World Stats. (2021). World internet users statistics and 2019 world population stats. https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

  • Kashada, A., & Ehtiwsh, E. (2020). The role of technology acceptance model (TAM) towards information systems implementation success: A meta-analysis. The International Journal of Engineering and Science (IJES), 9(1), 30–36.

  • Kong, T.Y. (2019). China's e-commerce development and its implication. East Asian Policy, 11(02), 34 – 45. https://doi.org/10.1142/S1793930519000151

  • Kushwaha, D., & Talib, F. (2022). Comparative efficiency measurement of Indian hospitals using data envelopment analysis: A proposed model. In, A. Sachdeva, P. Kumar, O. P. Yadav, & M. Tyagi (eds.), Recent advances in operations management applications. Lecture notes in mechanical engineering (pp. 157–181). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7059-6_14

  • Li, L., Su, F., Zhang, W., & Mao, J.-Y. (2018). Digital transformation by SME entrepreneurs: A capability perspective. Information Systems Journal, 28(6), 1129–1157. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12153

  • Mabotja, L. L. (2019). Is South African manufacturing SMMEs ready for the fourth industrial revolution? Journal of Education and Vocational Research, 9(2), 20–26. https://doi.org/10.22610/jevr.v9i2(v).2798

  • Madhava Priya, D., Prashanth, J., & Indira, A. (2019). Sustainability of small merchants through digital technologies. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 12(1), 8–20. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2019/v12i1/141424

  • Mehraliyev, F., Choi, Y., & King, B. (2021). Theoretical foundations of social media power in hospitality and tourism: A hierarchical model. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 62(2), 215–231. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965520924650

  • Morais, D. B., Bunn, D., Hoogendoorn, G., & KC, B. (2018). The potential role of tourism microentrepreneurship in the prevention of Rhino poaching. International Development Planning Review, 40(4), 443–461. https://doi.org/10.3828/idpr.2018.21

  • Museba, T. J., Ranganai, E., & Gianfrate, G. (2021). Customer perception of adoption and use of digital financial services and mobile money services in Uganda. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 15(2), 177–203. https://doi.org/10.1108/jec-07-2020-0127

  • Nyati, M. (2019). Pathways to digital work: A strategy primer for South Africa's digital economy. South Africa in the Digital Age (SADA). https://genesis.imgix.net/uploads/Pathways-to-Digital-Work-SADA-Strategy-Primer-full-report.pdf

  • Özkul, E., & Kumlu, S. T. (2019). Augmented reality applications in tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research, 3(2), 107–122. https://doi.org/10.30625/ijctr.625192

  • Peceny, U. S., Urban?i?, J., Mokorel, S., Kuralt, V., & Ilijaš, T. (2019). Tourism 4.0: Challenges in marketing a paradigm shift. In, Consumer behavior and marketing. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84762

  • Popescu, E. S., & Phi, G. (n.d.). The digital transformation of tourism SMEs in the European Union: Challenges, opportunities, and support. https://projekter.aau.dk/projekter/files/306181233/European_Tourism_SMEs_in_a_Digital_Context.pdf

  • Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage. The Free Press.

  • Reeves, S., Albert, M., Kuper, A., & Hodges, B. D. (2008). Why use theories in qualitative research? BMJ, 337, a949. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a949

  • Rogerson, E. (1962). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.) (pp. 1–26). The Free Press.

  • Sausen, H. (2020). What is digitalization? Opportunities and challenges in East-Africa. https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/ruanda/16158.pdf

  • Schumacher, A., Sihn, W., & Erol, S. (2016). Automation, digitization and digitalization and their implications for manufacturing processes. In, Innovation and Sustainability 2016. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318877006_Automation_digitization_and_digitalization_and_their_implications_for_manufacturing_processes

  • Seda: Small Enterprise Development Agency. (2018). SMME quarterly update: 3rd quarter 2017. http://www.seda.org.za/Publications/Publications/SMME%20Quarterly%202017-Q3.pdf

  • Sifolo, P. P. (2021). Cultural tourism: Serendipity or low hanging fruits? In, culture and rural-urban revitalisation in South Africa. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003145912-7-9

  • Sifolo, P., Rugimbana, R., & Hoque, M. (2017). Deconstructing the role of tourism stakeholder engagement in the Northern Cape province. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 6(3), 1–25. http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_40_vol_6__3__2017.pdf

  • Sohns, F., & Revilla Diez, J. (2018). Explaining micro entrepreneurship in rural Vietnam—a multilevel analysis. Small Business Economics, 50, 219–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9886-2

  • Statistics South Africa, Republic of South Africa. (2019). Tourism satellite account for South Africa, final 2016 and provisional 2017 and 2018 (Report No. 04-05-07). http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-04-05-07/Report-04-05-072018.pdf

  • Statistics South Africa, Republic of South Africa. (2020). Tourism. http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-03-51-02/Report-03-51-022019.pdf

  • Tassiopoulos, D., Uni De Coning, T., & Smit, E. (2016). The strategic behaviour of owners-managers in small, micro and medium tourism enterprises (SMMTEs) in South Africa. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 5(1). https://doi.org/http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/9858

  • The World Bank. (2022). The digital economy for Africa initiative. https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/all-africa-digital-transformation

  • Thordsen, T., Murawski, M., & Bick, M. (2020). How to measure digitalization? A critical evaluation of digital maturity models. In, M. Hattingh, M. Matthee, H. Smuts, I. Pappas, Y. Dwivedi, & M. Mäntymäki (eds.), Responsible design, implementation and use of information and communication technology. I3E 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Vol. 12066, pp. 358–369). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44999-5_30

  • Torous, J., Onnela, J. - P., & Keshavan, M. (2017). New dimensions and new tools to realize the potential of RDoC: Digital phenotyping via smartphones and connected devices. Translational Psychiatry, 7, e1053. https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2017.25

  • Torrington, C., Borros, G., Gwele, S., Rutsch, K., Anderson, R., Essa, Z., Pillay, N., & Dila, G. (2020, April 7). COVID-19: The impact on small businesses and gaps in current solutions: The case for better solutions to support entrepreneurs in townships. Africa Portal. https://www.africaportal.org/publications/covid-19-impact-small-businesses-and-gaps-current-solutions-case-better-solutions-support-entrepreneurs-townships/

  • Tripathi, A., Bagga, T., & Aggarwal, R. K. (2020). Strategic impact of business intelligence: A review of literature. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 13(3), 35–48. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2020/v13i3/151175

  • Van den Berg, J., & Van der Lingen, E. (2019). An empirical study of the factors affecting the adoption of mobile enterprise applications. The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 30(1), 124–146. https://doi.org/10.7166/30-1-1992

  • Vial, V., & Hanoteau, J. (2015). Returns to micro-entrepreneurship in an emerging economy: A quantile study of entrepreneurial Indonesian households' welfare. World Development, 74, 142–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.04.008

  • Vlahakis, V., Karigiannis, J., Tsotros, M., Gounaris, M., Almeida, L., Stricker, D., Gleue, T., Christou, I. T., Carlucci, R., & Ioannidis, N. (2001). Archeoguide: First results of an augmented reality, mobile computing system in cultural heritage sites. In, Proceedings of the 2001 Conference on Virtual Reality, Archaeology, and Cultural Heritage (VAST '01) (pp. 131–140). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/584993.585015

  • White, J. (2015). What is digital literacy? In, Digital literacy skills for FE teachers. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473909571.n2

  • Williams Jr, R. I., Clark, L. A., Clark, W. R., & Raffo, D. M. (2021). Re-examining systematic literature review in management research: Additional benefits and execution protocols. European Management Journal, 39(4), 521–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.09.007

  • World Bank Group. (2016). Digital adoption index (DAI): Measuring the global spread of digital technologies (Digital dividends: Background note). https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/5872214750749606820050022016/original/WDR16BPDAImethodology.pdf

  • World Travel & Tourism Council. (2021). Economic impact reports. https://wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact

  • Zupan Korže, S. (2019). From industry 4.0 to tourism 4.0. Innovative Issues and Approaches in Social Sciences, 12(3), 29–52. https://doi.org/10.12959/issn.1855-0541.iiass-2019-no3-art3


Abstract Views: 197

PDF Views: 1




  • Digitalization Opportunities for Tourism Micro-Entrepreneurship in South Africa : An Academic Gaze

Abstract Views: 197  |  PDF Views: 1

Authors

Portia Pearl Siyanda Sifolo
Department of Tourism Management, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, 0183, South Africa
Philasande Sokhela
College of Business Economics, Johannesburg Business School, Johannesburg, 2092, South Africa

Abstract


Framed within the technology determinism and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, the study aimed to evaluate digitalization opportunities that could be explored by the tourism micro-entrepreneurs (TMEs) in South Africa. A question raised in this paper is how tourism micro-entrepreneurs can improve firms’ performance through digitalization, particularly in the South African context as a developing country. A systematic review of the literature on the digitalization of micro-entrepreneurs in an African context was conducted. The study reviewed 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals between 2017 and 2021. The literature analysis revealed that there is value in the digitalization of tourism micro-entrepreneurs. However, digitalization opportunities can only be realized through coordination and collaboration with relevant stakeholders. The findings revealed that developing a digital strategy could address the change in customers’ needs, the future of work, and the preservation of historical and cultural practices while investing in tourism intelligence and improving policy regulations. The paper contributed toward adding to the limited academic gaze on tourism micro-entrepreneurship in Africa by identifying strategic prospects in digitalization.

Keywords


Tourism Micro-Entrepreneurship, Digitalization, Technological Determinism, Tourism 4.0, Diffusion of Innovation, Digital Adoption Index.

JEL Classification Code : M13.

Paper Submission Date : December 30, 2021 ; Paper sent back for Revision : February 22, 2022 ; Paper Acceptance Date : July 15, 2022 ; Paper Published Online : December 15, 2022


References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf%2F2022%2Fv16i12%2F172568