A Review of Drivers of Technology Adoption in The Hospitality Industry in Kenya

Abstract

In July 2016, Kenya held a 14th Session of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to discuss the potential of emerging nations in unlocking their growth on the back of technology. UNCTAD estimates that, the global value of ICT platforms has increased by 38 per cent from 2013 to 2016. It is apparent that adoption of technology in SMEs offers enormous opportunities for growth and development of global economies especially in emerging nations. In Kenyan hotel industry, the small and medium hotel enterprises are often flooded with many similar, often easily substitutable service offerings and of sub-standard quality, which eventually can affect the performance of the industry. Adoption of information technology presents a platform for hotels to achieve efficiency of operations and innovation of unique products and service. However, little seems to be known on the drivers that can influence such adoption. This study explored drivers of technology adoption in hospitality industry in Kenya. The study adopted a qualitative approach by reviewing and analyzing existent literature on the topic under study. Based on the review of selected literature, the findings of this study contend that in order to achieve operational efficiency, most hotels adopt basic technologies. This study proposed an integrated framework of drivers of technology adoption in hospitality industry. However, this paper, recommends a quantitative study to investigate the validity and reliability of the proposed conceptual framework in order to gain insights into how technology can truly influence the performance of hospitality enterprises in the Kenyan market context. Key words: Hospitality, Information Communication Technology, Hotel Performance