3C Empresa. Investigación y pensamiento crítico. ISSN: 2254-3376 Edición Especial Special Issue Enero 2021

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MODEL FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM COMPANIES

Alex Abelardo Pacheco Pumaleque

Universidad Nacional de Cañete - UNDC, Lima, (Perú).

E-mail: apacheco@undc.edu.pe ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9721-0730

Ivan Robles Fernandez

Universidad Tecnológica del Perú - UTP, Lima, (Perú).

E-mail: c19255@utp.edu.pe ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2510-8312

Dany Dorian Isuiza Perez

Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios – UNAMAD, (Perú).

E-mail: disuiza@unamad.edu.pe ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6132-088X

Marco Antonio Añaños Bedriñana

Universidad Nacional de Cañete - UNDC, Lima, (Perú).

E-mail: mananos@undc.edu.pe ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4737-4443

Recepción:

13/10/2020

Aceptación:

14/12/2020

Publicación:

08/01/2021

Citación sugerida Suggested citation

Pacheco, A. A., Robles, I., Isuiza, D. D., y Añaños, M. A. (2021). Digital transformation model for

the development of tourism companies. 3C Empresa. Investigación y pensamiento crítico. Edición Especial

Tourism and University: Backbone of Peruvian Economy, 47-61. https://doi.org/10.17993/3cemp.2021.

specialissue1.47-61

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ABSTRACT

The way of consuming information and the way we communicate is evolving thanks to

advances in technology, the digital transformation breaks new ground in the tourism sector

when communicating its services, oers and messages to customers. One of the challenges

facing tourism professionals is understanding technological trends to innovate and

reinvent their services towards clients. For which we propose a model to adopt the digital

transformation in the development of tourist companies. A questionnaire was carried out

with 20 managers from the sector with 95% reliability related to customer management,

competition and innovation strategy regarding digital transformation; organizational

culture and change management regarding business development. The results show that

45% indicate that they rarely keep a record with updated customer data. 35% indicate that

they sometimes evaluate business models to anticipate their competition. 35% rarely use

any methodology to develop a business model. This reects that companies must manage

data for later use, invest resources in innovating the business model, and have technological

professionals who reinvent business processes.

KEYWORDS

Digital Transformation, Tourism Companies, Development, Model.

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1. INTRODUCTION

Today, companies struggle to survive and execute technology to face the new challenges that

the market demands, it is related to digital transformation with devising and transforming

culture to make changes in processes, customs and the way of acting of companies and

persons; it acts as an indispensable tool for survival in the market (Ametic, 2017). Digital

transformation helps companies meet multiple and changing consumer needs, focusing on

the importance of data analytics and integrating technology across the business, revamping

the way they work to deliver value to customers. This transformation should redirect the

entire company towards a digital model that is eective in improving the relationship with

the customer (Sánchez, 2019).

Companies are changing the way they do business by creating opportunities to have a

competitive advantage, they generate a very important activity since they contribute to the

growth of GDP, which allows a series of changes linked to economic aspects, including

industrialization processes, communications, commerce and means of transport (Vashi,

2018). The tourism sector has a large and diverse oer, the demand in this sector is potential

since there are many clients who are served by mediation systems physically but due to the

arrival of technology it was radically transformed (Fundación Orange, 2016).

In tourism, in order to be competitive, the company must have dierentiation, reputation

and online presence in order to create value for the user and exceed their expectations.

Digitization in tourism companies is a long and complicated process, it is related to the cost of

implementation, to meet customer expectations, some companies use technology to innovate

and provide new products, services and provide information on the business model to their

clients, other companies use technology to reinvent themselves by improving their processes

and the quality of their products, but there is a high level of ignorance and inappropriate

use of new technologies such as cloud computing, big data or business intelligence in the

tourism sector, all this added to the high costs of technology implementation, the lack of

organization and structure within the company means that they are not at the forefront and

available to the customer.

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For this reason, the objective of this research is to propose a model to adopt digital

transformation in the development of tourism companies that allows competition in a

changing economic environment and prioritizes a roadmap towards digital transformation.

2. THEORETICAL BASES

2.1. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Companies use new trends in technology such as social networks, mobility, smart devices

and improved use of Enterprise Resource Planning ERP to transform processes, customer

relationships and the value proposition (Westerman, Bonnet & McAfee, 2014). In this way,

organizations improve their performance and reach through digital technology. It is a great

cultural and technological change that all companies must implement to meet the needs

of Generation Z customers. A real digital transformation is obtained when the company

becomes aware of the meaning of digital culture applied to all areas of the company (Peña,

2015). This new management model must be adopted by the people and organizational

structures.

For Fenwick et al. (2014) all business sectors are obliged to have a change caused by

digitization, some will drastically change the business model, leaving the traditional for the

modern, which in most cases will be disruptive. A dynamic ecosystem for the organization

should be considered, linking the internal and external digital resources of the company as

appropriate to promote speed, operational eciency and achieve a competitive advantage.

The advantages of digital transformation make it possible to improve, streamline operations

and processes with customers (Sánchez, 2019). Activities such as withdrawing money,

depositing money, buying and selling products or services are currently performed virtually,

making the economic system quick and easy.

According to a study carried out by Stibo Systems (2016), digitization changes the way

of doing business, becoming opportunities to obtain a competitive advantage in this new

global digital economy, allowing an organization to be modern, structured and specic

that improves the customer experience, increases revenue, fosters a culture of innovation

throughout the company, improves internal processes for greater eciency in the value

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chain and deepens data analysis in all areas of the company. In Figure 1, the barriers to

digital transformation are shown.

Figure 1. Barriers to digital transformation in companies.

Source: adapted from (Stibo Systems, 2016).

There are information systems for decision-making, from transactional ones that make au-

tomatic operational processes saving labor, to strategic ones that provide relevant infor-

mation that is used in the decision-making process (Bonilla & Briceño, 2014). They are

intended to assist top corporate executives with relevant information and the use of visual

resources for easy interpretation. With data analysis, the increase in products and smart

systems on the market, companies and factories will have a large number of information.

Analyzing these data will allow nding patterns and interdependencies, studying the pro-

cesses and nding ineciencies, including future events (Val, 2016; Pop, 2020). Thanks to

data analysis, new opportunities will be found, improving eciency and discovering services

for the client, of which they will have more information. Organizational culture represents

a strategic option by interfering with the culture that inuences teamwork within the com-

pany. The values of each person within a company and the dierent customs make organi-

zational culture fundamental in all organizations (Knein et al., 2020).

The digital culture inuences a change of mentality suggesting changes for the good of

the company, with new routine customs of organization and leadership, it is essential for

this reason that all companies adopt digitization. The organizational culture intervenes in

all the internal relations of the company such as coordination, communication, teamwork,

conict management, authority and autonomy (Runtu et al., 2019).

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The steps to building a strong organizational culture for companies to be successful are:

building committed teams, allowing sta to design the culture, hiring qualied sta aligned

to the company culture. Customer management is a growing business method, useful for

companies to interact with their current and future consumers (Soltani et al., 2018).

The purpose is to analyze historical information on consumers, focusing on retaining cus-

tomers and increasing sales to improve the customer-company relationship. The manage-

ment of the customer experience helps us to order the cultural mentality towards the user

experience, they are strategies and organizational capacities to maintain loyalty (Holmlund

et al., 2020). It is the response of consumers to the interrelationships with a company before,

during and after making the purchase that produces a competitive dierentiation.

To start with a change management process, companies must practice dialogue and com-

munication with a leader who has an integrating vision for the eective growth of the work

of the sta that promotes innovation and creativity for making good decisions in business

(Valderrama, 2013). For an organizational change to be carried out with good results, man-

agement must keep in mind the global vision of these aspects: elements for change manage-

ment, factors of change and phases of change, these phases of organizational change are

shown in Figure 2 ( Ruiz et al., 2012).

Figure 2. Phases of change.

Source: own elaboration from Ruiz et al. (2012).

The ability of a company to oer products and services but also innovative solutions to meet

the expectations and needs of the market is competitiveness (Chiavenato, 2011). Today

companies seek to be competitive in order to have an advantage over other organizations

seeking the same market and resources, in which consumers demand price, quality, respect

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for ecology and response time. Competition is the situation in which companies are

constantly in disputes to sell more products and services in a market (Medina- Quintero

et al., 2011), therefore technology positively inuences generating competitive advantage,

the inuence of competition generates opportunities as it increases the intensity of the

demand. Companies must choose the innovation strategy they must apply to succeed in the

market or only to survive (Kotler et al., 2010).

The most convenient innovation strategy is adapted to the external and internal environment

of the company to improve its protability. Business innovation improves the organization’s

activities through changes in business models, products, and marketing processes so that the

company is more ecient and positions itself in the market. Innovation depends on various

aspects such as the tastes and preferences of customers, the globalization of markets and

the arrival of new technologies.

3. METHODOLOGY

To carry out this research, the quasi-experimental type design applied to 20 MYPES in the

tourism sector of Cañete was used. The instrument used was a questionnaire on the digital

transformation variable with three indicators: clients, competition, innovation with a total

of 15 questions and the business development variable with two indicators: organizational

culture, change management with a total of 12 questions. The questionnaire was validated

by expert judgment and has a 95% reliability. The research work was based on four stages:

Evaluation of the MYPE, Evaluation Report, proposal and evaluation of results for

continuous improvement as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Stages of research development.

Source: own elaboration.

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4. RESULTS

The questionnaire was carried out to 20 managers of the tourism sector MYPES in Cañete.

In Table 1, the customer management dimension of the digital transformation variable

indicates that 45% rarely keep a record with the updated data of their customers, a 25%

sometimes keep track, 15% never, 10% often, and 5% always.

Table 1. Do you keep a record with the updated data of your customers?

Levels Frequency Percentage

Never 3 15%

Rarely 9 45%

Sometimes 5 25%

Often 2 10%

Always 1 5%

Total 20 100%

Source: Survey of MYPES in the tourism sector.

In Table 2 in the competition dimension of the same variable, 35% indicate that they

sometimes evaluate business models to anticipate their competition, 30% rarely, 20% often,

10% never and 5 % forever.

Table 2. Do you periodically evaluate business models to stay ahead of the competition?

Levels Frequency Percentage

Never 2 10%

Rarely 6 30%

Sometimes 7 35%

Often 4 20%

Always 1 5%

Total 20 100%

Source: Survey of MYPES in the tourism sector.

In Table 3 in the innovation strategy dimension of the same variable, 35% rarely make

use of any methodology to develop a business model, 30% sometimes, 15% always, 10% a

often and another 10% never.

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Table 3. Do you use any methodology for the development of new business models?

Levels Frequency Percentage

Never 2 10%

Rarely 7 35%

Sometimes 6 30%

Often 2 10%

Always 3 15%

Total 20 100%

Source: Survey of MYPES in the tourism sector.

In Table 4 in the organizational culture dimension of the business development variable,

40% express that sometimes the key personnel of the organization have an adequate level

of digital knowledge, 35% rarely, 15% often and 10% always.

Table 4. Are ICT used to promote the organizational culture in your company?

Levels Frequency Percentage

Never 0 0%

Rarely 7 35%

Sometimes 8 40%

Often 3 15%

Always 2 10%

Total 20 100%

Source: Survey of MYPES in the tourism sector.

In Table 5 change management dimension of the business development variable, 40%

indicate that they rarely use technological tools to support change management, 25%

sometimes, 15% often, 10% never and 10% always.

Table 5. Do you use technological tools to support change management?

Levels Frequency Percentage

Never 2 10%

Rarely 8 40%

Sometimes 5 25%

Often 3 15%

Always 2 10%

Total 20 100%

Source: Survey of MYPES in the tourism sector.

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5. PROPOSAL

Based on the results of the survey, the following implementation model for digital

transformation is proposed, which helps us to assess the current state of tourism companies,

then apply the principles of digital transformation to obtain ideal results.

Figure 4. Model for digital transformation.

Source: own elaboration.

6. CONCLUSIONS

This research work proposes the application of a digital transformation model for the

development of tourist companies based on instruments and techniques carried out in the

eld work. In Table 1, 45% of companies in the tourism sector indicate that they rarely

keep a record with the updated data of their customers, so they must manage a database

that includes demographic and historical information on consumer interests, giving them a

higher-level personalization to retain them. This agrees with del Val (2016) and Pop (2020)

highlighting the analysis of the data to nd patterns and interdependencies, studying the

processes and nding ineciencies to predict future events.

In Table 2, 35% indicates that they sometimes evaluate business models to anticipate the

competition. For this reason, tourist MYPES, in order to know what services their clients

want, must carry out surveys to analyze the market; make the necessary changes to the

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service through pilot tests to obtain customer feedback; develop strategies through a SWOT

analysis to reduce potential problems. This agrees with Chiavenato (2011) and Medina-

Quintero et al. (2011) highlighting that competition is the situation in which companies are

constantly in dispute to sell more products and services in a market.

In Table 3, 35% express that they rarely use any methodology for the development of any

business model, tourism companies must invest their resources in innovating the business

model generating value with new technologies. This agrees with Kotler et al. (2010),

expressing that business innovation is an organizational improvement due to changes in the

business model, in the organization, in the processes, products and marketing to position

itself in the market.

In Table 4, 40% express that ICTs are sometimes used to promote organizational culture, the

results show that Cañete tourism companies must improve the management of information

technologies to increase cultural productivity and achieve a new level of improvement.

This agrees with Knein et al. (2020) and Runtu et al. (2019), explain that the organizational

culture intervenes in all the internal relations of the company such as communication,

teamwork, conict management, authority, autonomy and coordination.

In Table 5, 40% indicate that they rarely use technological tools to support change

management, the data shown shows that companies in the Cañete tourism sector must

have professionals with skills and competencies to introduce new technologies that they

develop and reinvent the business processes. This agrees with Valderrama (2013) and Ruiz

et al. (2012) express that to start a process of change companies must have a dedicated

direction to practice dialogue and communication and must also have a leader who has an

integrative vision for the growth of the organization through innovation, creativity and use

of technology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Special thanks to the National University of Cañete, the Research Group on Entrepreneurship

and Innovation C@ñeteLab, its great professors, valuable students and collaborators for

carrying out this scientic article throughout these years of study. Specially to Miss DPMT.

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