Web map services in tourism: a framework exploring the organisational transformations and implications on business operations and models

摘要

This study aims to first analyse the functionality and the services of web map services, and then, to investigate the types of their exploitation that in turn transform the ways in which tourism firms design their business operations and business models. To that end, the paper first defines the concept of web map services and then it analyses their functionality by conducting a thorough literature review related to the field of web services, mapping services, Web 2.0 as well as their impact on the business operations. The paper then adapts Venkatraman's (1994) model on IT-induced transformation in order to identify and classify the different levels and types of exploitation of the functionality of web map services by tourism firms. Examples of web map services' applications from the tourism industry are used for analysing the concept, the business changes and the implementation challenges of each type-level of exploitation of web map services.