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Serving the Teleworker: Creating Added Value with Wireless Technology in the Travel Industry

Reima Suomi, Seppo Sirkemaa, Serving the Teleworker: Creating Added Value with Wireless Technology in the Travel Industry. Journal of eWorking 2(2), 122-143, 2008.

Abstract:

Information technology plays a critical role in the travel industry. Even traditional reservation systems have had a key role in travel services. Today reservation systems are commodities, and due to increasing competition, new services are needed. Leveraging customer services through modern communication technologies, especially through wireless communication technologies, seems to have great growth potential. Efficient and reliable wireless services are a key success factor for the mobile teleworker.

In this paper we discuss the importance of making wireless services available that will allow travellers to access information through wireless terminal devices. The research question discusses whether wireless technology can be used in order to create added value for customers.

In our article, we discuss the market situation and operating practices of the travel industry. Then we turn our attention to wireless technologies, their potential and the challenges of implementing them. Our empirical data is obtained from four Finnish market leaders in the travel industry. In particular, their current status and how they plan to use wireless technologies are discussed.

Our findings suggest that wireless technologies will become an integral part of the travel experience, firstly for business travellers but, even then, only in the long run. This is because four major obstacles to the fast development of wireless technologies can be seen: Limited customer demand, technical difficulties, the lack of defined industry wide standards and unclear business models and service delivery difficulties.

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BibTeX entry:

@ARTICLE{jSuSi08a,
  title = {Serving the Teleworker: Creating Added Value with Wireless Technology in the Travel Industry},
  author = {Suomi, Reima and Sirkemaa, Seppo},
  journal = {Journal of eWorking},
  volume = {2},
  number = {2},
  pages = {122-143},
  year = {2008},
  keywords = {Tourism, wireless network, added value},
}

Belongs to TUCS Research Unit(s): Network Economics Institute

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