Progress in Tourism Management Reviews

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION 
 
Constant innovation in applications of hardware, software and network developments means 
that only dynamic organisations, which can assess the requirements of their stakeholders and 
respond efficiently and effectively, will be able to outperform their competitors and maintain 
their long term prosperity. Rapid technological development paradoxically means that the 
more powerful and complex ICTs become, the more affordable, user friendly they become, 
enabling more people and organisations to take advantage. Technological innovations in 
hardware, software and netware have been propelling a wide range of changes in 
Information Systems (IS). ICTs convergence effectively integrates the entire range of 
hardware, software, groupware, netware and humanware and blurs the boundaries between 
equipment and software (Werthner & Klein,1999). Wireless and mobile networks are 
extensively used for communications, networking of equipment and interoperability between 
both organisations and functions. As a result, IS have evolved from simply interrelated 
components working together to collect, process, store and disseminate information to 
support decision making, coordination, control, analysis and visualisation in an organisation, 
to dynamic, interoperable mechanisms of collecting, processing and disseminating intelligence 
within organisations and in their extensive environment (Laudon & Laudon, 2007; Turban & 
Aronson, 2001). Technology therefore emerges as an “info-structure” of an organisation that 
supports the entire range of internal and external communications and processes (Buhalis, 
2003). ICTs are becoming a holistic integrated system of networked equipment and software, 
which enables effective data processing and communication for organisational benefit. In the 
last few years a number of technologies have been identified as critical for further innovation 

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in the tourism industry. These technologies primarily provide innovative software and network 
that support organisations to improve their communications with partners and consumers.