Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption Assignment

i
Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-
Medium-Sized Hotels in Malaysia
Research Proposal
For
Master of Commerce by Thesis
Prepared by
Mohd Faizal Ayob
MBA (Tourism and Hospitality Management)
Bsc (Hons) Hotel Management

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
Malaysia
Abstract
E-commerce is a profit making transaction strategy that enables faster and wider business
transactions from wider contexts of economic value and value creation through the internet.
Due to the growing demand to enhance the effectiveness of the hotel transaction network, this
paper reports the factors affecting e-commerce adoption amongst small-and-medium-sized
hotels in Malaysia. These factors represent the constraints, challenges, as well as limitations
that prevent the successful adoption of e-commerce based hotel industries in Malaysia. The
policy viability and implementation concerns associated with the adoption of e-commerce
application are reported. This study confirms that constraints exist and there are a lot of
potentials, within reach, to enhance effectiveness and efficient e-commerce integration into
small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia. The findings of this research could be integrated
as a part of Malaysian hotel industry strategic planning that harnesses the potentials of e-
commerce by both public and private sectors.
The impact of social media is very significant today and the influence of social media on
small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia is in an exploratory stage. Social media
disseminates word of mouth electronically, unlike traditional word of mouth. The second
generation of the World Wide Web-i.e Web 2.0, due to the vastness of information, the richly
improved interactivity and more importantly, the shift of power in online communication
from institutions to individual consumers and communities.
The study will carry out two major phases. Phase one involves a website evaluation analysis
to determine the level of e-commerce adoption amongst small-and-medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia. Phase two involves a multiple case study with six hotels in Malaysia including
semi-structured interviews with hotel owners or hotel managers, observation and document
analysis.. At the end of the study, the final framework of an e-commerce for the small-and-
medium-sized hotels will be developed as a result through literature review and two data
collection phases.
Keywords: E-Commerce adoption, e-business, hotel website, website evaluation, Small-and-
medium-sized hotel, social media, Malaysia,

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
Malaysia
TABLE OF CONTENT
Content Page
Abstract i
1. Research Case 1-2
2. Research Significance 3
3. Research Objectives 4
4. Research Questions 5
5. Literature Review
5.1 E-commerce adoption
5.1.1 Overview of e-commerce in Malaysia
5.1.2 Factors influencing hotel’s e-commerce adoption
5.1.3 Adoption of e-business in small-and-medium-sized
hotels
5.2 Small-and-medium sized hotels
5.3 Hotel Website
5.3.1 Website evaluation
5.3.2 Social Media in Hotel Industry
5.4 Tourism Industry in Malaysia
6-7
8
9-12
12-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22
23-25
6. Research Methodology
6.1 Research Procedure
6.1.1 Website Evaluation Analysis
6.1.2 Multiple Case Study
6.2 Research Technique for data collection
6.3 Research Techniques for analysis data collected
22-26
26-31
31-33
33-34
7. Ethical Issues Pertinent to the Proposed Research 40
8. Expected Outcomes of the Proposed Research 40
9. The Likely Contribution to Disciplinary Knowledge 41
10. Outline of the thesis 42-43
References 44-49
Appendix : List of Small-and-Medium Sized Hotels in Malaysia 50-56

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1. Research Case
Electronic commerce or “e-commerce” involves the buying, selling or exchanging of goods,
services through electronic networks. E-commerce has three basic forms: business-to-
business transactions (B2B), business-to-consumers transactions (B2C), and consumer-to-
consumer transactions (C2C). Since internet became a powerful tools to the customers it
brings many benefits included increased competition and lower prices, more choice in
product and services and the convenience of shopping goods and services from suppliers
from anywhere and anytime (Ayyappan 2013).
The growth of information technology has considerably changed the operating environment
of the hotel industry. Hotel websites, which originally served as travel information providers,
are hoping to create more business via online channels. Thus, there is growing reliance on the
internet for promoting lodging products and services. It seems that e-commerce adoption will
lead to an improvement in hotel operation but owners and managers of hotels are facing
difficulties in applying e-commerce especially in relation to quality and accuracy of
information obtained from the internet and the user friendliness of the interface and data
security (Shang et al. 2008) .
There is high potential for e-commerce to create value for different types of firms across
different sectors, including the tourism industry. As, largely service based, e-commerce is a
unique tools for the tourism industry to enhance their services as well as business
performance (Mohamed Intan et al. 2009).
Research on e-commerce adoption in developing countries is limited. Many of the developing
countries are rapidly changing with technologies and infrastructure to support new and
innovative applications such as e-commerce (Sutanonpaiboon & Pearson 2006).
Most of the research on e-commerce in Malaysia is highlighted on Business to Consumer
(B2C) activity. There is a greater potential for businesses, through e-commerce, that has
encouraged companies to move from the traditional method to the online business worldwide
(Shah Alam, Ali & Mohd. Jani 2011).

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Malaysia is a country whose economy can be considered to be high, and this is influenced by
the several economic activities that the citizens of the country undertake with the support of
the government. The most popular economic activities in the country are with the
incorporation of agriculture, trade and commerce, infrastructure development and more
importantly highly established restaurants and hotels to meet the increased number of tourists
that visit the country.
Currently, the organizations have been observed to be integrating more e-commerce into their
operations not only to advertise and promote their products and services but also to create
awareness to the clients of the changes that they make in their organizations. Electronic
commerce is evident in the contemporary world as an electronic revolution which is getting
larger every day, and this is with consideration of the fact that irrespective of the numerous
uses of the internet, online shopping has been considered to be one of the major three
operations undertaken with the help of the internet, along with email, chat and web browsing.
Although there have been a number of studies focusing on e-commerce adoption (Ahmad et
al. 2014; Molla & Licker 2005; Sulaiman & Abdullah 2011), there is a paucity of research
concerning small and medium sized hotels in developing countries (Jaafar, Kah Ing & Mohd
Sukarno 2011) This is particularly true when narrowed down to a particular industry. In fact,
there is a lack of research in Malaysia focused on e-commerce adoption in small-and-
medium-sized hotels. Therefore, this research is unique and fills a void in existing literature.
This research project proposes to explore the e-commerce adoption in small-and-medium-
sized hotels in Malaysia.

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2. Research Significance
This study is significant for two reasons. Firstly it fills a knowledge gap about e-commerce
adoption in Malaysia and aims to identify which factors are important for encouraging
willingness to adopt e-commerce and to explore of successful adoption of e-commerce.
According to (Sulaiman & Abdullah 2011), the adoption of e-commerce in developing
countries differs significantly from developed countries because of the lack of financial, legal
and physical infrastructures for e-commerce. Due to the global reach of e-commerce, hotels
in the developed countries have started adopting e-commerce in their business, but in
Malaysia and many other developing countries they are still reluctant to use information
technology or e-commerce in their day to day business operation. As development of
information technology around the world and its effect on business conducted in the tourism
and hospitality industry increases, one way of using IT in tourism and hospitality industry is
distribution. “Effective distribution is especially important for hotels because of their
perishable inventories” (O'Connor & Frew 2002). Therefore, it is important to identify the
factors that influence e-commerce adoption among small-and-medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia.
Secondly, this study focuses on a relatively unexplored and important sector in Malaysia-
small-and-medium-sized hotels. Most of the research on small-and-medium sized hotels in
Malaysia only focuses on certain locations such as Kelantan, Langkawi, Sabah and Penang
but this research is generalized to Malaysia as the scope of study. The previous study focused
on key challenges and strategic practices by small-and-medium-sized hotels, which are
common studies but this study is more highlighted on e-commerce adoption amongst small-
and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia.
Malaysia has been treating tourism as one of the important growth strategies in the country’s
quest for economic advancement. The falling of commodity prices experienced by Malaysia
in particular , injected a new lease of life into tourism so as to allow the country to sustain its
economic growth (Aziz et al. 2012). Millions of tourists are visiting Malaysia every year due
to the uniqueness of the country while large and international chain hotels have reaped a lot
of financial benefits of booming tourism industry in the country and small-and-medium sized
hotels run by local entrepreneurs found they are struggling more with competition in the
industry.

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3. Research Objectives
This study is a social science study that involves the innovation diffusion model and the
technological literature involving various studies conducted on the application of technology
in businesses. To be able to arrive at an evidence-based conclusion to the determinants
influencing adoption of e-commerce in small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia, the study
will focus at meeting the following aims and objectives:
RO1. To evaluate the level of e-commerce adoption among small-and-medium-sized hotels
in Malaysia.
RO2. To examine the factors of owners/managers of small-and-medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia in adopting e-commerce
RO3. To explore the components of successful adoption of e-commerce among small-and-
medium-sized hotels in Malaysia.
RO4. To investigate influences of social media in small-and-medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia
RO5. To develop an e-commerce adoption framework for small-and-medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia.

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4. Research Questions
Attainment of the objectives of the study is influenced by the nature of the study that is
conducted, and the stimulants of the study. This implies that for the objectives of this study to
be met, there are some stimulating or triggering problems that need to be answered and these
issues are with these inclusions, but not limited to:
RQ1. What is the level of e-commerce adoption among small-and medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia?
RQ2. What are the factors that affect owners/managers of small-and medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia in adopting e-commerce?
RQ3. What are the components of successful adoption of e-commerce among small-and-
medium-sized hotels in Malaysia?
RQ4. How do social media influence small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia?

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5 Literature Review
5.1 E-Commerce adoption
Electronic commerce is the idea and concept of conducting businesses online through the use
of secure websites. E-commerce involves the exchange of goods, services and information
between groups, organizations, individuals and also between businesses. The technologies
linked to e-commerce allow immediate access to more data and information even before they
reach people through other Media such as newspapers and radio broadcastings. Most business
companies are currently very profitable ventures through the application of internet and e-
commerce adoption because of the ability to promote and sell products and services online,
allowing even small organizations to make profits with little effort.
Establishing corporate website or email systems are the simplest e-commerce technologies.
Many companies have their own website but do not perform any online transactions. The
adoption of these simple technologies is bringing less change to the organization. The
adoption of simple technologies is easy and less cost compared with the adoption of
technologies not contentious as advanced e-commerce technologies that involve online
business transactions that integrated with internal business processes in which the adoption
process is expensive and sophisticated (Hong & Zhu 2006).
E-Commerce adoption can be categorized in three levels which are: (i) non adopters (a)
connected to the internet, no email;(b) connected with email, but no website, (ii) initial
adopters (a) static e-commerce, publishing basic company information on the web without
any interactivity (b) interactive e-commerce that accepts queries, email and form entry from
users and (iii) institutional adopters (a) transactive e-commerce- that is online selling and
purchasing of product or services, including customer services, (b) integrated e-commerce,
where the website is integrated with suppliers, customers and other back office systems,
allowing most of the business transactions to be connected electronically (Sulaiman &
Abdullah 2011). There are four levels of e-business which are: (i) information search and
emailing to communicate with customers and suppliers, (ii) online marketing through static
websites and the extensive use of email, (iii) online ordering and order placing with manual

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
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payment, (iv) online transactions, supporting online payment and the integration of front end
and back end systems to enable expansion into the international market (Chen & McQueen
2008).
There are relevant factors that differentiate adopters from non-adopters of e-commerce in
businesses. Enthusiasm of the top management, compatibility of e-commerce with the work
of the company, relative advantages perceived from e-commerce, and knowledge of the
company’s employees about e-commerce and technologies are the relevant factors whether a
company will adopt or non-adopt e-commerce into the businesses. Some of the factors not
influenced by the adoption factors included the degree of dependence of the company on
information, managerial time required to plan and adopting e-commerce application, the
nature of the company’s competition and the cost and financial operating e-commerce
application. Small companies are slightly less likely to adopt e-commerce compared to large
companies (Sutanonpaiboon & Pearson 2006).
The study of e-commerce and technology adoption has developed from several models and
theories. Each of the models and theories explained the factors that influence the adoption of
different levels of e-commerce. Furthermore, an empirical investigation of the relationship
between the level of e-commerce adoption and the benefits that are perceived by its users as a
platform of the model and theory (Abou-Shouk, Megicks & Lim 2013).

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5.1.1 Overview of E-Commerce in Malaysia
The rapid growth of e-commerce in Malaysia is determined by the information and
communication technologies (ICT) that is an initiative by the Malaysian government for
online businesses in the country. The key drivers for e-commerce development in Malaysia
are the increasing rate of internet users, online purchases and adopting of new technologies.
Furthermore the impact of internet usage, internet disclosure, internet experience and the
improvement of ICT have positive implications on development of e-commerce in this
country (Muhammad et al. 2011).
According to an International Data Corporation (IDC) survey in 2007 the overall E-
Commerce spending in Malaysia was US$22.3 billion, which is expected to double in the
year 2012. As per the survey, the number of internet users in Malaysia increased to 18.5
million and the number of online shoppers will increase to 10.5 million by 2012. Malaysia
has ranked 10th in internet usage among top countries in the world. Malaysia participated in
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) to collaborate in devising e-commerce
laws, regulations and policies. With all these policies and initiatives, e-commerce in Malaysia
will soon be one of the highest growing industries. Whether e-commerce in Malaysia does
grow rapidly, the trend of purchasing online is not a habit among the Malaysian people
compared to people in developed countries such as the USA, Australia, UK and Canada.
Malaysia is one of the developing countries that have begun to utilize e-commerce in both
domestic and international businesses. The Ministry of Communication and Multimedia is the
ministry that is responsible for the growth of Information Communication Technology (ICT)
with the support of several agencies such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission (MCMC) and the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC). These
agencies play an important role to develop the plan for the growth of e-commerce
development in Malaysia. “Knowledge-based economy” has been introduced by the
Malaysian government as a national agenda to ensure the country as a preferred ICT
destination (Ahmad et al. 2014).

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5.1.2 Factors influencing hotel’s e-commerce adoption
The study of e-commerce and technology adoption has developed from several models and
theories. Each of the models and theories explained the factors that influence the adoption of
different levels of e-commerce. Furthermore, an empirical investigation of the relationship
between the level of e-commerce adoption and the benefits that are perceived by its users as a
platform of the model and theory (Abou-Shouk, Megicks & Lim 2013)
Technology-Organization-Environment Model (Tornatzky & Fleischer 1990) has been used
in a few studies and been accepted among researchers in social sciences. TOE framework is
consistent with (Rogers 2003) diffusion of innovation theory as it focuses on internal and
external characteristics of an organization, as well as technological characteristics in the
study of drivers for new technology diffusion. The model identifies three elements of a
firm’s characteristic that influence the process of adopting, implementing and using
technological innovations (DePietro, Wiarda & Fleischer 1990; Tornatzky & Fleischer 1990)
which is explained as followed:
a. Technological context – describes both existing and new technologies relevant to the
firm such as prior technology usage and number of computers in the firm which
determines the ability of the firm to move to e-commerce and other technology
initiatives.
b. Organizational context – refers to descriptive measures related to organizations such
as firm, scope, firm size and managerial beliefs.
c. Environment context – focuses on areas which the firm conducts its business
operations, with the priority given to external factors influencing the industry
Diffusion of Innovation theory identified the characteristics of innovation, which determine
the rate of diffusion in the marketplace. These included both hard/rational and soft/personal
factors, such as: complexity, trialability, compatibility and relative advantage. Although
Roger’s theories can be applied to many SME’s their particulars need to be understood better
(Rogers 2003)

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Figure 1: A proposed framework of E-commerce adoption in small-and-medium-sized hotels
in Malaysia.
Using the innovation diffusion models and the current technological studies, an integrated
model of e-commerce adoption in Malaysia can be established. The Technology Organization
Environment Model is the foundation of investigating the determinants of e-commerce
adoption in the hotel industry in Malaysia, and is evident to be having various stages which
are with inclusion of relative advantage, compatibility, perceived ease of use, organizational
readiness, security, perceived cost, management characteristics, (Syed Shah et al. 2007)
competitive pressure and trading partner pressure (Ahmad et al. 2014). Generally, these are a
rundown of the determinants or factors that influence adoption of e-commerce in hotels.
Technology Context
Considering the relative advantage, it is the advantage that organizations have upon adoption
of e-commerce in their operations over the previous ways that the hotels have been using to
perform the same tasks. The hotels in Malaysia which have greater perceived advantages
from the implementation of e-commerce are more likely to pursue its adoption than those that
E-Commerce
Adoption
Technological
Context
Perceived Relative
Advantage
Perceived
Compatibility
Perceived Ease of
use
Organizational
Context
Organizational
readiness
Security
Perceived cost
Management
Characteristic
Environmental
Context
Competitive
Pressure
Trading partner
pressure

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have low relative advantage perceptions. Reflecting on compatibility, it can be argued that
the compatibility will have positive effects on the implementation of e-commerce by the
Malaysian hotel industry. Mulling over the perceived ease of use, where information systems
that the users perceive easier to use and less complex to use increase the likelihood of its
adoption and usage, and it can be argued that perceived ease of use has positive effects on
performance of e-commerce in the Malaysian hotel industry.
Organizational Context
According to Technology Organization Environment Model, organizational readiness has
been identified as a predictor of successful IT adoption, and this is to the observation that it
reflects the organization’s technological capabilities and the level of use of innovative
knowledge and skills. Therefore, the hotels in Malaysia that are in a higher state of readiness
are more likely to adopt e-commerce as compared to those that have low understanding and
negative perception with e-commerce to advance the performances of these hospitality
industries. Concentrating on security as a determinant of e-commerce adoption in the hotel
industry in Malaysia, it has been regarded as a key to e-commerce diffusion. This is to the
observation that to adopt e-commerce information safety, the organization or hotel need to
have integrity of the entire system, and this leads to the suggestion that hotels with higher
perceived security risks are less likely to adopt e-commerce as a way of improving their
performances.
The other determinant that is considered in the model is perceived cost, and this leads to the
assumption that hotels with perceived higher costs in the adoption of e-commerce is less
likely to adopt e-commerce to improve their performance. Managers’ characteristic is the last
determinant that the model suggests, and the understanding that can be derived is that
adoption of e-commerce is heavily reliant on the acceptance of e-commerce technology by
the owners of the hotels. It can be suggested that the hotels in Malaysia with managers who
have a more positive attitude towards adoption of e-commerce are likely to adopt e-
commerce as an operational strategy in their operations.

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Environment Context
Environment business is usually influenced by external pressure. There were two main
sources of external pressure: competitive pressure and trading partners pressure (Kuan &
Chau 2001). Most of the hotel room distribution on the internet and the control of
distribution are from a host of players which is a third party website or online travel agents
(Expedia, Priceline). Hotel chains and online travel agents distribute hotel rooms using the
global distribution systems (GDSs) (Carroll & Siguaw 2003). Since most of hotel chains
adopt e-commerce and the distribution of rooms via online, hotels in Malaysia may feel
pressure to adopt the technology especially if they want to sell the room using a third party
website (Ahmad et al. 2014). Most hotels encourage consumers to book the hotel directly via
the hotel website for a cheaper price compared to booking via traditional methods such as by
phone or travel agencies, but at same time third party website (e.g. Booking.com,
Travelocity) offer discounts with customers booking directly to the website. With the rapid
growth of internet based distribution channels, the relationships between these channels is
getting more complicated (Tso & Law 2005). In this situation, hotels in Malaysia will face
competitive pressure which is from other hotels as well as pressure from third party websites
which is a trading partner on the business environment.
5.1.3 Adoption of E-Business in Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotel
E-business can be defined as the application of information technology to facilitate buying
and selling of products, services and information over standard-based networks. E-business is
about using the convenience, availability and world-wide reach to enhance existing
businesses or creating a new virtual business (Thoben et al. 2002)
The internet and the related e-commerce and e-business concepts and strategies have been
acknowledged as an important paradigm in the modern industrial environment. As the hotel
industry evolves into a more technology-oriented industry it seems hotel managers need to
understand the e-business model.

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Figure 2: A proposed e-business model for Small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia
A part of the main objective is to determine the e-commerce adoption, this study also will
explore the e-business adoption amongst small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia. The
successful small-and-medium sized hotels may be implementing e-business such as e-
procurement and/or e-customer relationship management of their business. E-procurement
can be adopted in small-and-medium-sized Hotels since there is a business interaction
between hotel and supplier which is business-to-business (B2B). This is also known as buy-
side- e-commerce (Chaffey 2011). While expansion of e-commerce adoption such as e-
marketing or e-commerce between hotel and customer lead to e-customer relationship
management. This is also known as sell-side e-commerce (Chaffey 2011).
Electronic Procurement (e-Procurement)
e-Procurement enables purchasing needs via a single Web-enabled access points. It provides
access to a global supplier base, which allows to work with suppliers who better fit needs and
reduce materials costs by strengthening existing supplier relationships (Thoben et al. 2002).
e-Procurement is an integral component of an organization’s supplier relationship
management strategy, and often is the first major step towards trading partner collaboration,
aimed at translating strategy into successful execution. However, many hotels may still not be
familiar with e-procurement (Kothari, Hu & Roehl 2005).
Supplier
(Business)
Hotel
(Business)
Hotel
(Business)
Guest
(Customer)
e-Procurement
e-CRM
e-commerce e.g e-reservation
(CRS). Online travel agents (OTAs),
Mobile Hotel Reservation (MHR)

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e-Procurement objective is to reward businesses on a low–cost by automating and
streamlining the laborious routines of the purchasing function, purchasing professionals can
focus more on strategic purchasing and corporate goal achievements (Kothari, Hu & Roehl
2005).
Organizations that have excelled in the implementation of procurement, analytical tools, and
technologies have enjoyed several benefits (Daghfous & Barkhi 2009):
• Greater control over suppliers and their quality standards due to strong relationships,
better coordination, and collaboration among supply chain members,
• better streamlined processes, shorter lead times and replenishment, and enhanced
equipment readiness and utilization,
• enhanced communication and cooperation among members of the supply chain,
leading to enhanced product/process designs,
• faster customer response and improved delivery performance,
• improved forecasting accuracy, and planning and scheduling capabilities,
• lower levels of inventory throughout the chain and substantial cost reduction.
Several small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia have multiple properties across the
country such as Hotel Sentral. Hotel Sentral have several properties located in Kuala Lumpur,
Melaka and Kuantan while De Palma Hotel have three properties located in Shah Alam,
Ampang and Kuala Selangor. Hotel Seri Malaysia, which is the largest franchised hotel in
Malaysia have twenty one hotels across Malaysia. If the company management of these
small-and-medium-sized hotels adopt technology for better management of procurement
process it could lead to lower operating costs and higher profitability for the hotel indusry
(Kothari, Hu & Roehl 2007).
Electronic Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM)
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a strategy used to learn more about
customers’ needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. These
relationships cover the whole product cycle. e-CRM transforms existing customer data into
real sales or sales opportunities and marketing insights by using new technologies (Thoben et
al. 2002).

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CRM streamlines processes and automates the process by gathering a huge amount of data
and information about customers and uses it for effective communication and delivering
products, services, information and solutions (Daghfous & Barkhi 2009).
CRM complements traditional brand building techniques by favoring long-term perspective
since customer relationships help to insulate brands from competitors. Most customers are
influenced by brand and looking for a long-term relationship (Diana & Geoff 2003).
Much research acknowledges the importance and usefulness of e-CRM and demonstrates
how organizations have successfully integrated strategies, tactics and web technologies to
build relationships with customers via online (King & Burgess 2008; Paul, Elaine & Patrick
2009; Richards & Jones 2008; Sigala 2005).
According to Ab Hamid and Mc Grawth (2005) there are twelve dimensions of e-CRM
including information quality, ease of navigation, consumer service quality, fullfilment,
integrated marketing channels, online community rewards, personalization level, site
security, value-added services, perceived trust and price attractiveness (Ab Hamid, Yoke &
Romiza 2011).
e-CRM may increase high customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention by using technology as
a platform. Web 2.0 technologies and advancement will collaborate with customer
relationship management through social media (Ab Hamid, Yoke & Romiza 2011)
CRM is one of the most popular topics in information technology , marketing management
and business strategy since CRM differs from traditional marketing initiatives. Successful
CRM requires a significant increase in the information that must be managed as the firm’s
scale and scope increase since it requires significant investments in technology, process
redesign, and people (Özgener & İraz 2006). In this study, the researcher will identify
whether small-and-medium-sized hotels are relatively ready to invest on CRM or not. Since
there are several characteristic of hotels under this category such as number of rooms, it
might have difference views or perceptions from hotel managers/owners in order to adopt e-
CRM in the hotel.

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5.2 Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels
There are different definitions for small-and-medium-sized-hotels worldwide. Hotel
accommodation in Croatia most commonly falls into the following three categories (Milohnic
& Cerovic 2007).
i. Small hotels (5 – 50 rooms)
ii. Medium sized hotels (51 – 200 rooms)
iii. Large hotels (more than 200 rooms)
According to the book “Front Office Operation and Management”, hotels can be categorized
as small, medium, large and mega (Ismail 2002). Small hotels have 1-150 rooms, Medium
hotels have 151 – 400 rooms, Large hotels have 401 – 1500 rooms while Mega hotels have
1501 rooms and over.
In the Malaysian tourism industry, small-and-medium-sized hotels can be defined as small
hotels with a three star rating and below, which include motels, backpackers and homestay
businesses. In Malaysia, SMEs is measured by the amount of turnover and number of
employees. According to Saaid, Executive Director of Malaysian Association of Hotel
Owners (MAHO), the industry is expecting better business for small-and-medium-sized-
hotels as tourists are expected to downgrade themselves to lower star and cheaper hotels. So,
small-and-medium-sized hotels have big potentials for growth in this segment (Jaafar, Kah
Ing & Mohd Sukarno 2011). Luciani (1999) defined that small sized hotels are often 3 stars
with less than 60 rooms. Small and medium sized hotels are managed through a family
oriented view and they are not directly interested in growth, also their major concern is about
the way to survive in a challenging market. Sigala (2002) also believed that 30 – 60 rooms is
a good indicator for differentiating micro or family hotels from smaller and bigger ones,
respectively. According to World Tourism Organization (WTO), one SME hotel has below
50 rooms and it employs less than 10 persons.It most located in marginal places (Main 2001).
According to Alison (1998), the definition of small hotel as a business entity is financed by
one individual or small group, directly managed by its owner(s) in a personalized manner and
not through the medium of a formalized management structure. It may or may not be
affiliated to an external agency on a continual basis for at least one management function. In

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comparison to the largest unit in operation within the hotel industry, it is perceived as small,
in terms of physical facilities, product and services capacity and number of employees.
Small-and-medium-sized independent hotels are under pressure to continue to perform well
or even survive as the world’s largest hotel groups consolidate and benefits from economies
of scale, scope and concentrated resources for acquiring the latest technology and expertise in
order to build strong brands and more sophisticated and demanding customers (Sonja &
Frédéric 2006).
SME hotels should have ability to be flexible in comparison to inflexible standardized hotel
brands in order to have more competitive advantages and be more functional in the industry
(Main 2001). In these kinds of hotel customization and therefore the capability to engage
with niche market is allowed. However, independent hotel beside SME hotels, suffers
intrinsic defects (Sonja & Frédéric 2006). Since most small-and-medium-sized hotels have
been dominated by the family business, there may be limited development due to
noneconomic incentives, limited marketing, quality assurance challenges, pricing policies,
cost control and a lack of financial resources (Alison 1998).
Most problematic conditions in SME hotels are the shortage of capital, the absence of
economies of scale, an under utilized economies of scope, the peripherality, inadequate
management skills, inadequate marketing skills and expertise, insufficient power of
bargaining inside the distribution channel and the shortage of representation in revealing the
place of electronic marketing (Dimitrios & Hilary 1998).
SME hotels mostly lack management expertise which contributes to reduce technology
infrastructure and adopting new processes and technology, thus these hotels, fail to remain
reactive to innovation (Feiz, Khalifah & Ghotbabbadi 2012).

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5.3 Hotel Website
Hotels have developed their own websites in order to promote their products and services
online. The Internet serves as a good platform and the cheapest cost of distribution channel
(Kim, W.G, Ma & Kim 2006; Rob & Cathy 2005). For most customers, e-reservation is the
most efficient way to perform booking via the Internet as it provides real time information as
well as offering a lower rate compared to offline methods (Kim, Woo Gon & Kim 2004).
According to (Baloglu & Pekcan 2006), hotel websites are important promotional and selling
tools for the room as well as internet distribution channel (Gabriel, Woo Gon & Radesh
2008) besides online travel agents (OTAs) and social media becoming trends and challenging
in the hospitality industry (Chan & Law 2006).
Hotel managers should engage in social media in order to establish communication with the
customer (Alessandro & Lorenzo 2014). Hotels realize in order to increase the hotel room
sales, they need to sell the room through online means since it is more convenient for
customers to purchase via the internet (Filieri & McLeay 2014).
Hotel managers should understand the current customer’s needs and wants and understand
the current trend of the market so that they can transfer to the hotel website and that will be
the key success of their hotel website. Managers should know the content of their website and
keep up to date the product and services offers, such as promotions or packages, of the hotel
via online (Rob & Cathy 2005).
Since the hotel is a perishable product and services, customers should experience the product.
We can experience or feel the services without having consumed it. For example, the guest
staying 3 days 2 nights in the hotel rooms. Customers will know about the quality of the
services such as the room services. Since the rapid growth of the internet, and most websites
have online reviews, customers can express their feeling of staying in the hotel in certain
websites such as tripadvisor or wotif.com.
Since that, hotels have created and designed effective websites with lowest rates (Myung, Li
& Bai 2009) to encourage customers to book directly from their own website as well to
increase the revenue and additionally the website is an effective tool for greater market share
and its cost is very low compared to other marketing tools (O'Connor & Frew 2002).

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Nowadays, when an individual is looking at information, he or she will directly check on the
website. For example, he or she checks on the hotel product and services. The hotel website
is a virtual lobby as it creates the first impression of the customer about the hotel. From the
online visit, the customer will create their own opinion on the hotel based on what he or she
has seen through the hotel website. The website could be the pre-determined by the
customers to book on the rooms or find other hotels (Musante, Bojanic & Zhang 2009).
Most of the study about online booking shows that the trends on booking via internet are
growing year by year. The internet booking is the most convenient way to purchase since an
individual can purchase it anytime, anywhere as long as they have internet access. Customers
have a mindset that purchasing the room online will be cheaper compared to other ways of
booking since the distribution costs are lower (Toh, Raven & DeKay 2011).
E-Lookers are defined as travelers who have previously visited at least one hotel website and
e-buyers are defined as travelers who have made purchases from one or more hotel websites.
Hotel managers should know the difference of target market and hotel classes to know
specific preferences of customers (Law & Cheung 2006).
In this study, the researcher focuses on small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia. The
Malaysian government has been supporting the Information Technology (IT) adoption and
this study also hopes to enhance Malaysia’s image and reputation of tourism industries
utilizing current technology. The internet will enable innovative small-and-medium-sized
hotels to build their “virtual” site and expand their reach. However the limited adoption of e-
commerce in small-and-medium-sized hotels raises considerable concern about their ability
and readiness to use the internet as a business tool. A number of barriers can be identified,
including lack of resources, lack of skilled employees, lack of ease to use technology adapted
to small-and-medium-sized hotels and also lack of awareness of the potential benefits
(Buhalis 2008).

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5.3.1 Website Evaluation
Many of studies on hotel website evaluation done by previous researchers have been
concentrated on chain hotels, luxury hotels and large hotels. (Díaz & Koutra 2013; Ham
2005; Hashim et al. 2010; Law & Cheung 2006; Law, Qi & Buhalis 2010; Salavati & Hashim
2014; Ting et al. 2013) . However, there is a lack of research on hotel website evaluation
focus on small-and-medium-sized hotels, especially in developing countries such as
Malaysia.
Most of the study of website evaluation is using content analysis technique. This technique
evaluated by the features and the description while the design is examined by the appearance,
exploration structure, searching function (Ting et al. 2013).
Different types of hotels have different emphasis on the design characteristic (i.e.,
interactivity,navigation, and functionality) and site marketing practices had study done of
four and five star hotels in Turkey (Baloglu & Pekcan 2006).
The extended model of internet commerce adoption study done by Ting et al. (2013) is
adapted from the basic concept of Burgess and Cooper’s (1999) identify three stages of
website interfaces which are promotion, provision, and processing. The extended model of
internet commerce model been developed to consider hotel on different continents may not
mature on three stages model of internet commerce adoption (MICA) (Burgess & Cooper
1999). The new model has three dimensions that can be divided into subdimension as layers.
So, promotion is divided into basic information and rich information layers, while the
provision stage is divided by low interactivity, medium interactivity, and high interactivity.
Chung and Law (2003) applied five dimensions to measure efficiency of Hong Kong hotel
websites through content analysis (namely, facility information, customer contact
information, reservation information, surrounding area information, and website
management).
Ham (2005) study on context analysis, evaluation approach for the limited-service lodging
properties. Seven evaluation criteria been highlighted in this study included impression,
content, usefulness, accuracy, navigation, accessibility, online reservation, and timeliness of
information.

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A study done by Hashim et al. (2010) founded that large,high rated and affiliated hotels had a
higher email and website presence and adopted technologies significantly earlier than the
small, low rated and non-affiliated hotels. The study also founded hotel size has an
insignificant relationship with Malaysian hotel’s Internet adoption.
Schmidt, Cantallops & dos Santos (2008) had focused on three categories of website
evaluation: (i) evaluation by phases, (ii) evaluation by characteristic and (iii) evaluation by
characteristic and effectiveness. While content analysis technique been employes to evaluate
the hotel websites performance among Iranian Hotel (Salavati & Hashim 2014).

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5.3.2 Social Media in hotel industry
Social media, online reviews and blogs are interactive platforms for customers to share
information, knowledge and opinions about products and services. Web 2.0 such as
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Skype empowers online user interaction to create,
exchange and use the information (Filieri & McLeay 2014; Sigala 2012). Perhaps, hotel
managers should engage with social media to build rapport with customers as an effective
way of communication (Alessandro & Lorenzo 2014).
Social media and web 2.0 has changed the way of hoteliers to promote the facilities to
customers. Customers looking on different information sources before making a decision to
purchase. (Schmidt, Cantallops & dos Santos 2008) had studied the importance of social
media as a channel for maintaining a relationship with the online users and a new marketing
medium. Nowadays, research on e-commerce and e-tourism focuses more on online reviews
that have been published on Tripadvisor or on Online travel agents websites such as
booking.com (Filieri & McLeay 2014).
Another benefit linked to the use of social media in the hotel industry is that there is no need
for a physical store, and this is to the observation that some services offered through these
social media and e-commerce, address the client’s needs satisfactorily to an extent that they
do not need to visit the hotel location, such as payment of bills for booking services or
products. Social media allows organizations, especially in the hospitality industry such as
hotels, to gain and interact with new customers, and allows the hotel servers to provide
abundant information regarding the quality of services and product that they offer. Generally,
social media and e-commerce are essential tools in the hospitality industry, and this is
confirmed by the success of the organizations in developed countries where implementation
of e-commerce and the use of social media is effectively executed. It is the obligation of the
owners and managers of the small and medium enterprises, which are inclusive of hotels in
Malaysia, to understand the benefits of social media as part of their marketing tools.

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5.4 Tourism in Malaysia
“Malaysia Truly Asia” is the most popular tagline to describe Malaysia as a unique country in
Asia. The tagline is the official marketing strategy for Tourism Malaysia to promote Malaysia
and to attract tourists to visit Malaysia (Sudipta, Sarat & P.Babu 2010). In the past five to
seven years, Tourism Malaysia had successfully promoted Malaysia until it was ranked in
ninth place of the most visited countries during 2011 with 24.7 million tourist arrivals
according to United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In 2012, Malaysia has
recorded a total of 25.03 million arrivals and showed an increase of 1.3% in tourist arrival
(Malaysia 2013).
Ministry of Tourism Malaysia is targeting at least 28 million visitors for Visit Malaysia Year
2014, which is an additional 3 million international tourists compared to 25 million visitors in
2012. In tandem with the latest plan developed by the Malaysian Government, Malaysia
Tourism Transformation Plan (MTTP) is designed to achieve 36 million international
tourists, generating RM168 billion in terms of tourist receipt in the year 2020. The Economic
Transformation Program (ETP) had been launched by YAB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul
Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia on Sept 21, 2010 for the purpose of turning Malaysia into
a high-income country by the year 2020. The program will lift Malaysia’s Gross National
Income (GNI) to USD $523 billion by 2020 and raise per capita income from USD $6,700 to
at least USD $15, 000, meeting the World Bank’s threshold for high income nation
(Grossniklaus 2013).
As a multi-cultural country that is rich with natural attractions, Malaysia has a full advantage
to attract the tourists to visit and spend their holiday, leisure and business in this country.
Shopping centers and halal food services are one of the main reasons why the tourist arrivals
have grown in Malaysia. Table 1 shows the number of tourist arrivals and receipts in
Malaysia.

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Year Arrivals Receipt (RM)
2012 25.03 Million 60.6 Billion
2011 24.71 Million 58.3 Billion
2010 24.58 Million 56.5 Billion
2009 23.65 Million 53.4 Billion
2008 22.05 Million 49.6 Billion
2007 20.97 Million 46.1 Billion
2006 17.55 Million 36.3 Billion
2005 16.43 Million 32.0 Billion
2004 15.70 Million 29.7 Billion
2003 10.58 Million 21.3 Billion
2002 13.29 Million 25.8 Billion
2001 12.78 Million 24.2 Billion
2000 10.22 Million 17.3 Billion
1999 7.93 Million 12.3 Billion
1998 5.56 Million 8.6 Billion
Sources from Tourism Malaysia
Table 2: Tourist Arrivals and Receipts in Malaysia
The growth and development of Tourism in Malaysia shows a positive impact year by year
since the government recognizes the fact that this industry will give significant benefits to the
country especially in economy and income for the nations. National Tourism Development
Strategy by Malaysia’s Five Year Plan from MP6 in the year 1996 to MP10 in year 2011 had
really made the tourism in Malaysia progress very well. (Prime Minister Office, 2012)
Performance and Delivery Unit or known as PEMANDU had identified twelve (12) National
Key Economic Area (NKEA). The NKEA is a key driver to the success of this program as
such activities have the potential to contribute significantly to the growth of the Malaysian
economy. Tourism has been identified as one of the twelve areas of NKEA. Tourism NKEA
has been classified as accommodation, shopping, tourism products and food and beverage as
well as inbound and domestic transportation (PEMANDU, 2012).
Tourism in Malaysia had been developed when the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism
was set up in the year 1987. The tourism industry was given a budget for the infrastructure
and product promotional activities by the government. Subsequently, the tourism industry,
collected RM9 billion tourist receipts for the year 2000 which surpasses the National Tourism
Policy’s target of RM8.3 billion (Jaafar, Kah Ing & Mohd Sukarno 2011).

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The Ministry of Culture, Art and Tourism had been established in the year 1987 and plays a
vital role for implementation strategies at national level. Every state has its own tourism state
council and at the national level, Tourism Malaysia cooperates with Malaysia Airlines to
promote Malaysia to the world, especially with a campaign of “Cuti-Cuti Malaysia” and
Citrawarna Malaysia” (Jaafar, Kah Ing & Mohd Sukarno 2011).
Visit Malaysia program was initially introduced by Ministry of Tourism Malaysia in 1990
and the second such initiative in 1994 had successfully drawn 7.4 million and 7.2 million
tourists with a contribution of RM5 billion receipts and made tourism become an important
foreign exchange earner for Malaysia. In 2004, tourism became the second sector that
contributes to the national income for Malaysia after manufacturing (Jaafar, Kah Ing & Mohd
Sukarno 2011).
The government of Malaysia is always concerned to promote and support the Ministry of
Tourism and Tourism Malaysia to stimulate the national tourism sector. In 2005 and 2006,
RM448,032,300 and RM461,032,300 had been allocated for the purpose of promoting
Malaysia to the world and improving the facilities and infrastructure to support the tourism
industry in Malaysia. Finally, Visit Malaysia Year 2007 was held in conjunction with 50
years of Malaysia nation’s Independence Day. This is the double celebration for Malaysians,
especially for people in the tourism industry as this is a key point of success for their efforts
to promote Malaysia as one of the tourist destinations in the world map (Jaafar, Kah Ing &
Mohd Sukarno 2011).
The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) is the representative body for members of the
hospitality industry. MAH makes a great contribution in the development and promotion of
the Malaysian hospitality industry and tourism. MAH acts as a representative body of all
hotels in Malaysia that cooperates and coordinates between the members and associate
members to improve the sector of accommodation in Malaysia (Malaysia Tourism Report Q1
2009 2009).

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6. Research Methodology
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the e-commerce adoption amongst small-and-
medium-sized hotels in Malaysia. In order to obtain the relevant data required, the researcher
decided for qualitative research methods. Qualitative research methods allows the researcher
to identify issues from the perspective of the study participants and understanding the
meanings and interpretations that give to behavior, events and objects. Interpretive approach
is similar to this study, which is to understand e-commerce adoption amongst small-and-
medium-sized hotels in Malaysia. A qualitative researcher needs to be open minded, curious
and empathic, flexible and able to listen to people telling their own story. This means that a
qualitative researcher studies things in natural settings, attempting to make sense of or
interpret, phenomena in terms of the meaning people bring to them (Monique, Inge & Ajay
2011).
6.1 Research Procedure
6.1.1 Website Evaluation Analysis
The first phase includes a survey of small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia. To begin,
for the survey, a list of hotels was obtained from the Malaysian Association Hotel website
(www.hotel.org.my). The purpose of this survey is to evaluate the level of e-commerce
adoption amongst small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia by using website evaluation
techniques. Besides that, from the website survey, researcher will identify the use of social
media amongst small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia.
For this purpose of study, a researcher had drawn a sample criteria of small-and-medium-
sized hotels from the hotel listings in Malaysia Association Hotel website:
• Types of hotel : City and Business Hotel
• Number of rooms : 30 to 400 rooms
• Star Rating : 2 star and 3 star
• Affiliation : Independent and chain

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Hotels in Malaysia have been classified by star rating according to the Malaysian Association
Hotel (www.hotel.org.my). There are six (6) criteria for the classification of the hotel
according to the star rating including a qualitative and aesthetic requirement, a common area,
a bedroom requirement, services, safety standard and hygiene and staff.
Figure 2: Location of Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in Malaysia
Source: Malaysian Association of Hotels
Table 5: Number of Small and Medium Sized Hotels in Malaysia in 2014
State Two Star
Rating
Three Star
Rating
Total of hotels
Perlis 1 0 1
Kedah 0 4 4
Penang 2 7 9
Perak 5 7 12
Selangor 9 11 20
Kuala Lumpur 14 28 42
Negeri Sembilan 3 2 5
Malacca 6 13 19
Johor 3 19 22
Pahang 3 3 6
Terengganu 1 3 4
Kelantan 4 6 10
Sarawak 2 18 20
Sabah 2 16 18
Labuan 0 1 1
Total 55 138 193

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This research develops a set of evaluation criteria in this study to evaluate the level of e-
commerce adoption of the small-and-medium-sized hotels websites in Malaysia. Table 6
shows the evaluation criteria for evaluating small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia.
Table 6: Evaluation Criteria for the Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels Website
Dimensions Features
Interactivity Online availability, offline reservation, phone number, fax,
email, online information request form, general description
and history, map, newsletter, press release, awards, careers,
mobile hotel reservation, FAQ, privacy policy
Navigation Link to other sites, site map, consistent navigation, ease of
navigation, download time
Functionality Important organization contacts, currency converter, flash
animation, membership system, download facilities,
Multilanguage
Marketing Room rates, Packages and Promotions, Dining, Photos, Photo
album, video, e-brochure, Web 2.0 tools, Customer Loyalty
Program
Service Check in and check out time, information on hotel rooms,
activities, conference and meeting facilities, itinerary
information.
Innovation Online reservation, View or Cancel Reservation, Online
payment, Online chats
A schema was then established covering the website dimension and features. By using a
Likert Scale, the website dimension and features been analyze and ranked according to the
points setting. After the points being given to each of hotel websites, this study will
determine the level of e-commerce adoption of the small-and-medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia website as below (Chaffey 2011):
• Level 0: No website presence on web
• Level 1: Basic web presence. The company places an entry in a website listing
company name. There is no website at this stage.
• Level 2: Simple static informational website. Contains basic company and product
information, sometimes referred to as a brochure
• Level 3: Simple interactive website. Users are able to search the site and make queries
to retrieve information. Queries by email may be supported.
• Level 4: Interactive site supporting transaction with users. The functions offered will
vary according to the company, but they will usually be limited to online booking.

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• Level 5: Fully interactive site supporting website the whole buying process. Provides
relationship marketing with individual customers and facilitating the full range of
marketing exchange.
Table 7: Description of the Five-Point Likert Scale
Points Description
0 No available information
1 Very basic information and application
2 Low interactivity and application
3 Medium interactivity and application
4 High interactivity and application
5 Advanced interactivity and application
Web Survey Findings
The web survey demonstrated that e-commerce in small-and-medium-sized hotels in
Malaysia is still underdeveloped in consistency. From the total 193 hotels under small-and-
medium sized hotels in Malaysia, the researcher had identified fourteen (14) of the hotels
don’t have their own website. The survey had been done from the date of the 2 nd of August
2014 until the 15th of August 2014 via online website survey. Three of the small-and-
medium-sized hotels have their own website domain page, but it’s under maintenance. A part
of, the importance of this website survey analysis is to know the function of the website
amongst small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia. The vast majority of small-and-
medium-sized hotels are still at the initial website steps, having developed a website. Two
star hotel rating with a small number of rooms and family managed hotel mostly only have a
static website. The vast majority of the small-and-medium-sized hotels had outsourced their
website development to the web designers who have often used piecemeal approaches to
develop websites.
From the survey, the researcher finds out only local chain hotel and management group of
hotel companies in Malaysia have a good website design with proper online reservation.
Some of the hotel websites, have very poor content and a lack of information about the hotels
products and services, no online reservation and poor directory of web sites. The layout of
most websites it’s very limited in content and has a very low quality interface. There was
little difference between different hotel classifications as far as web design is concerned.

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Although size and category determine potential revenue and one would expect that larger and
higher quality hotels would have a good website, this was not always the case as often
smaller properties had invested time and effort in offering a comprehensive web
presence.The challenges of small-and-medium-sized hotels are to optimize their website and
were consistently achieving higher rankings on search engines.
In terms of marketing, most of the hotels utilized the website to promote the products and
services. Hotels had advertised the promotions online such as room promotion, food and
beverage promotions, conference promotions and recreational facilities such as golf. From
the survey analysis, not all the hotels are connecting with social media. Several of the hotels
connected with social media such as Facebook, Tripadvisor, Twitter, Blogs, Instagram and
Foursquare. Only one of the small-and-medium-sized hotels have mobile booking for the
customers.
Besides having their own website and online booking , the hotels mostly connected to the
third party booking website or online travel agents (OTAs), such as agoda.com, booking.com,
hotelscombined.com, tripadvisor.com, ehotelsasia.com, hotelclub.com and others.
Few of the hotels offer Best Rate Guarantee on their website as the way to attract customers
to book directly ontheir website compared to other channels of booking. By online booking a
hotel offer a 10% deposit from the customers and it will attract customers to proceed with the
booking directly to the hotel website.
6.1.2 Multiple case study
This study follows a case study approach in the interpretive paradigm with the aim of
evaluating e-commerce adoption amongst small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia.
Multiple case studies will be conducted to provide a description of what small-and-medium-
sized hotels in Malaysia are facing with e-commerce adoption. The unit of analysis was the
hotel/organization with hotel owners/managers representing the decision making body of the
small-and-medium-sized hotels.
A purposeful method of sampling (Miles, Huberman & Saldaña 2014) was employed to come
up with the required number of small-and-medium-sized hotels. The rationale for this
approach was to obtain a cohort of small-and-medium-sized hotels that would provide
adequate information in terms of depth and breadth, which were also willing to participate.

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From the list of small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia developed by the researcher for
website survey analysis, the researcher will make phone calls as well to established their
willingness to participate.
The researcher has choosen city and business hotel as the classification of hotel type listed by
Malaysian Association of Hotel because this type of hotel is significant to this study of e-
commerce adoption. City and business hotels are more relevant in adoption of e-commerce
compared to other types of hotels such as beach resorts, island resorts, service apartments,
budget hotels, eco/nature resorts, golf resorts and others. Two star and three star rating hotels
have been chosen as the sample since this category of star rating is relevant to adopting e-
commerce such as connecting with electronic distribution channel e.g. online travel agents
and using IT application in the operations. One star rating and below such as Orchard rating
is not relevant to adopt e-commerce in a high level due to the size of the hotels and number of
rooms as well cost of implementing e-commerce.
At lease six small-and-medium-sized hotels will be partipating in this study. To ensure this
study is non-biased and realistic in terms of sampling, three hotels will be from three star
rating and three from two star rating and it will be a mix of affiliation of hotels whether
independent or chain hotels.
Semi structured face-to-face interviews are the first means of obtaining data from small-and-
medium-sized hotels . Two or three persons, usually a small-and-medium-sized hotels owner
or manager and other key informants who have knowledge about IT will be participating in
this study. In depth analysis will be conducted using the researcher’s insight following
(Miles, Huberman & Saldaña 2014). Cases will be analysed individually as well as in
comparison with each other on the factors of how they are represented in each hotels. Patterns
and themes will be generated for analysis.
Case study method defined and understood in various ways. The case study method is an
attempt to systematically investigate an event or a set of related events with the specific aim
of describing and explaining a particular phenomenon (Berg 2012). Case studies are
commonly used in business and information systems to help bridge the gap between
foundation studies and practice.

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In the multiple case study, the single case study is one of interest because it belongs to a
particular collection of cases. The individual cases share a common characteristic or
condition. The cases in the collection are somehow categorically bound together. A quintain
is an object or phenomenon or condition to be studied. For the multiple case study, we have
decided a word representing the collective target, whether it is a program, a phenomenon or
condition (Stake 2006). In this study, the researcher chose the multiple case study since the
multiple case study are replicate cases, extend emergent theory, fill theories categories and
examples of polar examples (Eisenhard, 1989). Yin (1994), the multiple case study should be
a reflection of the number of literal or theoretical replications. Usually multiple case studies
are non critical, unusual, or rare cases.

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Figure 4: Proposed Multiple Case study method (Yin 2014).
Develop Theory
E-Commerce Adoption in Malaysian
hotels
Select Case Design data
Six (6) Hotels Case Studies
Writing Individual case report
Draw cross-case conclusions
Modify theory
Develop policy implications
Write cross case report
Prepare , Collect and Analyze Define and DesignAnalyze and Conclude

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The evidence from multiple cases is often more compelling, and the overall study is therefore
regarded as being more robust. The replication logic is analogous to that used in multiple
experiments. Some of the replications might attempt to duplicate the exact conditions of the
original experiments. The logic underlying the use of multiple-case studies is same. Each
case must be carefully selected so that it either (a) predicts similar results or (b) predicts
contrasting results but for anticipatable reasons (Yin 2014).
Unit of analysis for case study
The unit of analysis is one of the major entities that will be analysed. The analysis that the
researcher has planned to determine what unit will be involved in investigating the research
issues.
Case screening and selection
A purposeful method of sampling (Huberman and Miles, 2002) was employed to come up
with the required number of small-and-medium sized hotels. The rationale for this approach
was to obtain a cohort of small-and-medium-sized hotels that would provide adequate
information in terms of depth and breath, which were also willing to participate. Prior visits
and contacts made to familiarize the researcher with the interviewee and also to buy-in trust
as is the nature of interpretive studies (Klein and Myers, 1999).
Case study protocol
The case study protocol is important in highlighting the procedures taken while undertaking
the case study approach, right from beginning until the final stage of data analysis from the
case study. According to Yin (2003), having the case study protocol is preferable for
whatever conditions. In this study, the researcher will follow a case study protocol to ensure
the reliability of the case study research.

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Part Structure of case study protocol Activities
1 Introduction to case study
• Case study design
• Case study questions and propositions
• Case study protocol establishment
The case study questions are formulated
based on the following issues. Example
in this study
• Hotel Electronic Distribution
Systems
• Hotel Information Technology
Applications
• Challenges faced by managers
and owners
• Hotel Website
2 Data collection procedures
• Identification and case study selection
• Data collection plan
Selection of case study for multiple case
study. Case already been identified.
Data collection plan
• Initial contact with the
organization
• Draft and submit the official letter
• Arrange the field visit and
interview
• Data collection Techniques
Instrument
• Voice recorder
• Video camcorder
3 Case study questions Theme 1, theme 2, theme 3
4 Outline case study report Verification of the proposition
5 Case study analysis • Within case and cross case
analysis (literal replication and
theoretical replication), suing data
matrices and pattern matching.
• Content analysis
• Cognitive mapping
• Gap analysis
• Survey analysis
6 Recommendations • The findings
• The results
• The report/summary
Table 8: Case study protocol

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36
6.2 Research Techniques for Data Collection
Interview
The interview is a one-to-one method of data collection that involves an interviewer and an
interviewee discussing specific topics. An interview may be described as a conversation with
a purpose. A semi-structured interview is used by the researcher to gain insight into certain
issues. The interviewer asks questions and motivates the interviewee to share their
perspective during the interview session. The interviewer and interviewee co-create
knowledge and meaning in the interview setting and co-construct reality. The field interview
involves: (Hennink 2011)
• Using a semi-structured interview guide to prompt the data collection;
• Establishing rapport between the interviewer and interviewee;
• Asking questions in an open and empathic way;
• Motivating the interviewee to tell their story whilst probing.
Instrument preparation (interview questions)
The researcher has a certain aim with the project and designs a matching research question.
Research questions are not the same as interview questions. Formulating interview questions
can be seen as a form of operationalizing the research questions. Starting from the research
question, some major themes or concepts can be identified.
Several points should be highlighted by the researcher in designing the interview questions
(Evers 2013).
• On a communication level: Researcher would interact with respondent in order to
receive information.
• On a relationship level: In order to receive authentic and valid information,
researchers will develop a relationship with the respondent.
• On a perceptual level: Researcher should use appropriate language for the respondent
to understand the questions.
• The situation the respondent is in: Respondent is usually tied to the company or
organizational policies and procedures. Some of the information cannot be revealed to
the researcher. It is private and confidential.

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37
Semi-structured face-to-face interviews are the first means of obtaining data from the hotels.
The hotel owner or manager and other key informants who were knowledgeable about e-
commerce and ICT are to participate in this study.
Contacting the respondent
The researcher will call the Human Resources Department of each hotel as the procedure and
to get permission before conducting the interview. Usually hotels require an official letter
from the university as proof and concern for the interview. When the management has
approved the request, Human Resources will arrange with the respective Manager to set up
the appointment date and probably will contact via email. As a formality, the researcher will
send the personalized email to the respective personnel for their concern about the study and
required for the interview process.
The researcher will explain to the hotel through the Human Resource Department as well as
to the respective Manager that will be interviewed about the concern of ethics of research. As
well as the research that has already obtained the approval from Business Research, School of
Business University of Western Sydney. Hotels (interviewee) have a right to not participate
in this study at any time if the interviewee feels the study is not appropriate and doesn’t give
any significance to both parties. All the information is private and confidential and only to be
used for the purpose of the study.
All interviews are to be recorded on audiotape because this provides a more accurate version
of the story than simply just notes by the researcher. All interviews to be transcribed verbatim
before coding and analysis begins.

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38
6.3 Research Techniques for Analysis of the data collected
Analysis of interviews
The purposes of the interview is to develop ideas and research hypotheses rather than to
gather the facts and statistics. Researchers need to understand how the respondent is thinking
and feeling and opinion about the topics of concern for the research. The interviews could be
analyzed using content analysis with a word-based and code-base approach together with
several analytical strategies adopted for content analysis for interview. Interview transcripts
provide raw data that needs to be analyzed systematically. First interview questions should be
in thematic distinctions to help a researcher highlight important points or ideas for content
analysis. The thematic distinctions will help the researcher to understand the relationship
between one point to another, based on their perception or understanding of the study
(Krippendorff 2013).
Content Analysis
According to (Krippendorff 2013) content analysis can range from the simplest form of word
count to thematic analysis or conceptual analysis. (Miles, Huberman & Saldaña 2014)
suggested the preliminary “counts” of data and determining how frequent codes appear in the
database. Content analysis has been defined as a technique for systematically describing the
form and content of written or spoken material.
The analysis can be of content, in term of the specific topics, theme, or structure, in term of
the location in the text analyzed. In this study, cases will be analyzed individually as well in
comparison with each other on the factors and how they are represented in each organization.
Patterns and themes will be generated for analysis.
Interpreting data
Williamson and Bow (2000) provided a set of steps that can be used as a guide to interpret
data.
• Transcribe the data – entering the notes or audio recordings into an electronic form,
making the information more accessible and easier to analyze.

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39
• Read through each transcript (interview summary) in order to familiarize – it is
critical for a researcher to be immersed in the data and have a deep knowledge and
understanding of an interview and observation
• Categorize the data – categorize the data using coding. This will assist the researchers
to think about their data in a more in depth level, to know how important a particular
issue is by the amount of data in particular categories and to be able to think about the
relationships between categories.
• Playing with ideas- it is a useful technique for thinking about the data in different
ways and forming new thought patterns.

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40
7. Ethical Issues Pertinent to the Proposed Research
This proposed research will require ethical approval in Malaysia. This dissertation study
proposal will be submitted initially to the Human Research Ethic Committee (HREC)
University of Canterbury for clearance to proceed with data collection. Ethical considerations
will include consent forms and information sheets given to each participant. All participants
will be 18 years old or older. Participant names will not be published and pseudonyms will be
used in any data analysis or result dissemination. The code of conduct for research at the
University of Canterbury will be adhered to in a strict manner to ensure the integrity and
validity of the research. Once ethical approval has been cleared at the University of
Canterbury then an application will be made to the relevant Malaysian authorities.
8. Expected Outcomes of the Proposed Research
The adoption of e-commerce in the hotel industry has become one of the choices that seem
unavoidable because they bear so directly on the prospects for competing and even surviving
in the highly competitive global tourism economy. Small-and-medium-sized hotels
representing numerically the dominant form of hotel operators, playing a role focusing on e-
commerce adoption in the industry.
In Malaysia, ICT adoption amongst small businesses is driven by international customers,
particularly those from affluent countries where Internet penetration is high and its use in
research and plan purchases is common. This is illustrated precisely by the fact that local
customers still prefer to use traditional means and low penetration rates remain.
The benefits experienced by hotels in this study are sufficient justification to push for e-
commerce use and to support small-and-medium-sized hotels that have not adopted e-
commerce or have tried but failed because of many obstacles.
Despite the encouraging benefits of e-commerce adoption and influence of social media in
this proposed study, an emerging question is how more widespread e-commerce and ICTs
adoption can be facilitated amongst small-and-medium-sized hotels, especially in developing
countries such as Malaysia.

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
Malaysia
41
9. The Likely Contribution to Disciplinary Knowledge
The researcher believes that this study has a significant contribution to the existing body of
knowledge. The study of small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia has received little
attention regarding e-commerce adoption, hotel electronic distribution channel and hotel IT
applications. It is important to note that this study is particularly relevant given the focus on
tourism development in Malaysia.
Although, there are, a growing number of large chain hotels in Malaysia recently, small-and-
medium-sized hotels play a vital role in the Malaysian hotel industry. Ministry of Tourism
and Malaysian Association of Hotel (MAH) always supported small-and-medium-sized
hotels in Malaysia in order to achieve success in the hospitality industry in Malaysia.
The Internet is increasingly becoming an essential tool in the hospitality industry. Along with
the opportunities it offers, it presents significant challenges. This study will share the
experiences of small-and-medium-size hotel operators in Malaysia. This study will provide
insight into the reality of e-commerce adoption and hotel electronic distribution system
among small-and-medium-sized hotels in Malaysia. The e-commerce framework for small-
and-medium-sized hotels will develop based on the conceptual framework and as guidance
for hotel operators in adopting e-commerce in the hotels. Finally, the study will add to the
embryonic body of research in this field and will raise a number of questions for future
research.

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
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10. Outline of the thesis
Chapter 1 – Introduction
This chapter will provide an introduction to the study. Background information will be
presented to provide a foundation for the research. Specific keywords and terms pertinent to
the research will be conceptualized and defined in the context of the research. Further, the
importance and significance of the research will be explained. This chapter will conclude
with an outline of proceeding chapters.
Chapter 2- Review of Literature
This chapter will provide a thorough and concise review of literature within the context of
this research. Specifically, literature and research in the field of e-commerce adoption, small-
and-medium-sized hotels, hotel electronic distribution system, e-commerce ICTs in Malaysia,
tourism industry in Malaysia and social media of the study will be analyzed and evaluated.
The review of literature will focus on key researchers and their current research. This
literature will identify gaps in the research and present ways of addressing the gaps in the
current study.
Chapter 3 – Research Methodology
This chapter will discuss the chosen methodology for research and explain why this
methodology was chosen over other methodologies. The chapter will outline qualitative
paradigms pertinent to the research. This chapter will outline the process of data collection.
Data collection tools and instruments will also be explained in regards to their necessity in
this research project.
Chapter 4 – Data Analysis
This chapter will provide an analysis of the data and the strength and weaknesses of the
methodologies in relation to the data generated from the proposed study.
Chapter 5 – Findings
This chapter will present the findings of the research. This chapter is most important to show
the validity of the research study.

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
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Chapter 6 – Conclusion
A summary of the entire thesis will be provided and a discussion of the conclusion and
implications for future research will be stated in this chapter.

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44
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APPENDIX: LIST OF SMALL-AND-MEDIUM-SIZED HOTELS IN MALAYSIA
3 STAR HOTEL
No Name of Hotel Website Address Location Number of
Rooms
1 Abell Hotel www.abellhotel.com Sarawak 80
2. Aldy Hotel www.aldyhotel.com.my Malacca 30
3 Alpha Genesis
Hotel
www.alphagenesishotel.com Kuala Lumpur 133
4 Amansari Ekspress
Hotel
www.amansarihotels.com Johor 144
5 Amansari Hotel
City Centre
www.amansarihotels.com Johor 263
6 Ancasa Hotel&
Spa Kuala Lumpur
www.ancasahotelspa.com Kuala Lumpur 300
7 Arenaa De Luxe
Hotel
www.arenaahotels.com.my Malacca 80
8 Ariva Gateway
Kuching
www.stayariva.com Sarawak 70
9 Armenian Street
Heritage Hotel
www.armenianstheritagehotel.com Penang 92
10 Aston Hotel www.theanstonhotel.com.my Negeri Sembilan 191
11 Austin Heights
Golf& Country
Resort
www.austingolfresort.com Johor 66
12 Borneo Rainforest
Lodge
www.borneonaturetours.com Sabah 31
13 Brisdale Hotel
Kuala Lumpur
www.brisdale.com.my Kuala Lumpur 275
14 Citadines Uplands
Kuching
www.citadines.com Sarawak 215
15 Cititel Express
Kota Kinabalu
www.cititelexpress.com.my Sabah 275
16 Cititel Express
Kuala Lumpur
www.cititelexpress.com.my Kuala Lumpur 244
17 Citiview Hotel www.citiviewhotel.com Pahang 91
18 Classic Hotel www.classichotel.com.my Johor 156
19 Concorde Inn
KLIA
http://sepang.concordehotelsresorts.com/ Selangor 338
20 Continental Hotel
Georgetown
www.hotelcontinetal.com.my Penang 231
21 Crown Garden
Hotel
www.crowngardenhotel.com Kelantan 81
22 Crown Regency
Serviced Suites
www.crownregency.com.my Kuala Lumpur 90
23 Crystal Crown
Hotel Johor Bharu
www.crownregency.com.my Johor 264
24 Crystal Crown
Kepong
www.crownregency.com.my Kuala Lumpur 200
25 Crystal Lodge www.crystallodge.my Kelantan 88
26 De Leon Hotel www.hoteldeleon.com.my Sabah 46

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27 De Palma Hotel
Ampang
www.depalmahotel.com Selangor 202
28 De Palma Hotel
Kuala Selangor
www.depalmahotel.com Selangor 48
29 Dormani Hotel
Kuching
www.dormanihotel.com Sarawak 70
30 Dynasty Hotel
Miri
www.dynastyhotelmiri.com.my Sarawak 130
31 Emas Hotel www.hotelemas.cm.my Sabah 102
32 Emaslink Pacific
Hotel
www.newpacifichotel.com.my Kelantan 211
33 Emerald Puteri
Hotel
www.emeraldputerihotel.com Kedah 84
34 Emperor Hotel
Malacca
www.theemperorhotel.com Malacca 227
35 Felda Residence
Kuala Terengganu
www.feldatravel.com.my Terengganu 100
36 Flamingo Hotel By
The Lake Kuala
Lumpur
www.flamingo.com.my Selangor 228
37 Garden City
Service
Apartments
www.gardencity.com.my Malacca 100
38 Gaya Centre Hotel www.gayacentre.cm Sabah 256
39 Glow Penang by
Zinc
www.glowbyzinc.com/penang Penang 133
40 Goodhope Hotel
Skudai
www.goodhopehotel.com.my Johor 180
41 Grand Continental
Hotel
www.ghihotels.com.my Kuala Lumpur 309
42 Grand Kampar
Hotel
www.grandkamparhotel.com.my Perak 155
43 Grand Pacific
Hotel
www.grandpacifichotel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 111
44 Grand Sentosa
Hotel
www.grandsentosahotel.com Johor 261
45 Guest Hotel & Spa www.guesthotelspa.com Negeri Sembilan 111
46 Hallmark Regency
Hotel
www.hotelhallmark.com Johor 64
47 Harbour View
Hotel
www.harbourview.com.my Sarawak 243
48 Heritage Hotel
Ipoh
www.heritage.com.my Perak 265
49 Holiday Villa
Hotel & Suites
Kota Bharu
www.holidayvillahotels.com Kelantan 108
50 Hotel Granada
Johor Bharu
www.htlgranada.com Johor 192
51 Hotel Pudu Plaza www.puduplazahotel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 348
52 Hotel Sandakan www.hotelsandakan.com.my Sabah 105
53 Hotel Sentral
Georgetown
www.hotelsentralgeorgetown.com.my Penang 137

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
Malaysia
52
54 Hotel Sentral
Kuala Lumpur
www.hotelsentral.com.my Kuala Lumpur 192
55 Hotel Sentral
Melaka
www.hotelsentralmelaka.com.my Malacca 145
56 Hotel Sentral Pudu www.hotelsentralpudu.com.my Kuala Lumpur 168
57 Hotel Sentral
Riverview
www.hotelsentralriverviewmelaka.com.my Malacca 112
58 Hotel Tanjong
Vista
www.hoteltanjongvista.com.my Terengganu 199
59 Ibis Styles Kuala
Lumpur Cheras
www.ibis.com Selangor 156
60 Imperial Boutec
Hotel
www.imperialboutec.com Sabah 96
61 Intekma Resort &
Convention Centre
www.intekmaresort.com.my Selangor 178
62 JB Central Hotel www.jbcentralhotel-johorbahru.com Johor 192
63 Jesselton Hotel www.jesseltonhotel.com Sabah 32
64 Juta Hotel www.sabah.com.my/juta Sabah 91
65 Kemena Plaza
Hotel Bintulu
www.kemenahotelgroup.com Sarawak 161
66 Kings Hotel
Melaka
www.kingshotel.com.my Malacca 71
67 Kingwood Hotel
Mukah
No website Sarawak 200
68 Kingwood Resort
Mukah
No website Sarawak 99
69 Kuala Lumpur
International Hotel
www.klitel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 370
70 Kuching Park
Hotel
www.kuchingparkhotel.com Sarawak 108
71 KW Inn No website Sarawak 90
72 L A Hotel www.lahotel.com.my Sabah 106
73 Likas Square
Condotel
www.likassquare.com.my Sabah 81
74 Lisa De Inn
Petaling Jaya
www.deinnhotel.com Selangor 80
75 Maluri Hotel www.hotelmaluri.com Kuala Lumpur 238
76 Mandarin Court
Hotel Kuala
Lumpur
www.mandarincourthotel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 240
77 Mayres Hotel www.mayreshotel.com Johor 85
78 MH Hotel Sentral www.mhhotels.com.my Perak 118
79 Midah Hotel www.midahhotelkl.com Kuala Lumpur 166
80 My Hotel Premier
@ Midvalley
www.myhotels.com.my Kuala Lumpur 93
81 Nomad Sucasa www.thenomadsucasa.com Kuala Lumpur 180
82 Nouvelle Hotel
Kulai
www.nouvellehotel.com Johor 126
83 Orient Star Lumut www.orientstar.com.my Perak 150
84 Orkid Hotel www.hotelorkidmelaka.com Malacca 128

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
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53
Melaka
85 Palm Beach Resort
& Spa
www.palmbeachresortspa.com Labuan 150
86 Paramount Hotel
Sibu
www.paramountsibu.com Sarawak 95
87 Pariss Hotel www.parisshotel.com.my Johor 113
88 Peninsula
Residence All
Suite Hotel
www.peninsula-residencekl.com Kuala Lumpur 102
89 Perdana Resort www.perdanaresort.com.my Kelantan 117
90 Perkasa Hotel
Keningau
www.perkasahotel.com.my Sabah 62
91 Permai Hotel
Kuala Terengganu
www.permaihotelkt.com.my Terengganu 220
92 Piccolo Hotel www.piccolohotel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 168
93 Plaza Hotel Kuala
Lumpur
www.hotelplazakl.com.my Kuala Lumpur 158
94 Premier Hotel Sibu www.premierh.com.my Sarawak 189
95 Prescott Hotel
Kuala Lumpur-
Sentral
www.everlyhotel.com Kuala Lumpur 126
96 Prescott Inn
Medan Tuanku
www.everlyhotel.com Kuala Lumpur 111
97 Prime City Hotel www.primecity.com Johor 124
98 Promenade Hotel
Bintulu
www.promenade.com.my Sabah 155
99 Puri Hotel Malacca www.hotelpuri.com Malacca 63
100 Purnama Hotel
Limbang
www.purnamalimbang.com Sarawak 218
101 Putra Hotel Kuala
Lumpur
www.hotelputrakl.com Kuala Lumpur 103
102 Quality Hotel Shah
Alam
www.quality.com.my Shah Alam 154
103 Red Rock Hotel www.redrockhotel-pg.com Penang 127
104 Regalodge Hotel www.regalodge.com.my Perak 86
105 Regency Alor Star www.theregency.com.my Kedah 126
106 Regency Rajah
Court Hotel
www.theregency.com.my Sarawak 118
107 RHR Hotel
@Uniten
www.rhrhotel.com Selangor 164
108 Rocana Hotel www.rocanahotel.com Pahang 87
109 Royal Guest Hotel www.royalguesthse.com Kelantan 45
110 Sabah Oriental
Hotel
www.sabahoriental.com.my Sabah 200
111 Sanbay Hotel www.sanbay.com.my Sabah 58
112 Seafest Hotel www.seafesthotel.com Sabah 143
113 Selesa Hotel Johor
Bharu
www.selesahotelsresorts.com Johor 285
114 Selesa Hotel Pasir
Gudang
www.selesahotelsresorts.com Johor 179

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
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54
115 Seri Costa Hotel
Melaka
www.hotelsericosta.com Malacca 147
116 Shahzan Inn
Kuantan
shahzaninn.com Pahang 127
117 Shah’s Village
Hotel
www.shahresorts.com Selangor 83
118 Shangri-La Hotel
Kota Kinabalu
www.kkshang.com.my Sabah 121
119 Silka Johor Bharu www.silkahotels.com/johorbharu Johor 248
120 Singgahsana Hotel
Petaling Jaya
No website Selangor 50
121 Sri Petaling Hotel www.hotelsripetaling.com.my Kuala Lumpur 168
122 Star Points Kuala
Lumpur
www.starpointshotel.com Kuala Lumpur 137
123 Starcity Hotel Alor
Star
www.starcity.com.my Kedah 98
124 Summit Hotel
Bukit Mertajam
www.summithotelbm.com Penang 160
125 Sungai Petani Inn www.sp-inn.com.my Kedah 113
126 Sunway Hotel
Seberang Jaya
seberangjaya.sunwayhotels.com Penang 202
127 Suria City Hotel
Johor Bharu
www.suriaresorts.com Johor 133
128 Swan Garden
Hotel
www.swangardenhotel.com Malacca 99
129 Swiss Inn Kuala
Lumpur
www.swissgarden.com Kuala Lumpur 151
130 Symphony Suites www.symphonysuites.com.my Perak 95
131 Taiping Perdana
Hotel
www.taipingperdana.com.my Perak 139
132 Tanahmas Hotel www.tanahmas.com.my Sarawak 120
133 Tanjong Puteri
Golf Resort
www.tpgr.com Johor 84
134 Telang Usan Hotel
Kuching
www.telangusan.com Sarawak 66
135 Terra Nova Hotel www.terranovahotel.com.my Malacca 48
136 Valenza Hotel &
Café
www.valenza.com.my Kuala Lumpur 93
137 Vistana Hotel
Kuala Lumpur
www.ytlhotels.com Kuala Lumpur 364
138 Wana Riverside
Hotel
www.bwwrh.com.my Malacca 170

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
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55
2 STARS HOTEL
No Name of Hotel Website Address Location No of rooms
1 360 Express City
Centre
www.360xpress.com.my Sarawak 98
2 Agora Hotel Kuala
Lumpur
www.agorahotel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 50
3 Alami Garden
Hotel
www.alamigardenhotel.com.my Selangor 50
4 Anika Hotel
Kluang
No website Johor 88
5 Ayer Keroh
Country Resort
Melaka
www.akcr.com.my Malacca 83
6 Baba House www.thebabahouse.com.my Malacca 65
7 Bintang Warisan
Hotel
www.bintangwarisan.com Kuala Lumpur 110
8 Borneo Hotel
Kuching
No website Sarawak 65
9 Cardogan Hotel No website Kuala Lumpur 61
10 Citrus Hotel Kuala
Lumpur
www.citrushotelkl.com Kuala Lumpur 171
11 Corona Inn Kuala
Lumpur
www.coronainn.com.my Kuala Lumpur 117
12 De Palma Hotel
Shah Alam
www.depalmahotel.com Selangor 114
13 D’99 Hotel www.d99hotel.com Johor 114
14 Felda Residence
Trolak
www.feldatravel.com.my Perak 189
15 First Business Inn No website Kuala Lumpur 103
16 Flora Place www.thefloraplace.com Kelantan 45
17 Fortuna Hotel www.fortunakl.com Kuala Lumpur 89
18 Golden Nasmir
Hotel
www.nasmirholding.com.my Penang 63
19 Grand Eastern
Hotel
www.grandeasternhotel.com Sabah 71
20 Habib Hotel www.habibhotel.com.my Kelantan 32
21 Hotel Sentral
Kuantan
www.hotelsentralkuantan.com.my Pahang 96
22 Hotel Tropicaville No website Malacca 36
23 Ipoh French Hotel www.frenchhotel.com.my Perak 48
24 Klang Histana
Hotel
www.histanahotel.com.my Selangor 144
25 La Boss Hotel www.labosshotel.com Malacca 88
26 Lead View Hotel www.leadview.com.my Perak 141
27 Lucky Hotel No website Perak 76
28 Malaysia Hotel www.hotelmalaysia.com.my Penang 126
29 Marvelux Hotel www.marveluxhotel.com Malacca 100
30 Ming Star Hotel www.mingstarhotel.com Terengganu 80

Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption amongst Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels in
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56
31 Mirama Hotel
Kuala Lumpur
No website Kuala Lumpur 79
32 My Hotel Bukit
Bintang
www.myhotel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 100
33 Nilai Hotel www.nilaihotel.com Negeri Sembilan 150
34 Noble Hotel No website Kuala Lumpur 106
35 Nova Hotel www.novahotel.com Kuala Lumpur 154
36 Orchard Inn www.orchardinhotel.com Selangor 59
37 Palace Hotel Kuala
Lumpur
www.palacehotel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 83
38 Panorama Hotel
Taiping
www.panoramataiping.com Perak 79
39 PJ De Inn pjdeinn.com Selangor 57
40 Prescott Hotel
Klang
www.everlyhotels.com Selangor 158
41 Prescott Metro Inn
Kajang
www.everlyhotels.com Selangor 102
42 Puteri Park Kuala
Lumpur
No website Kuala Lumpur 243
43 Putra Brasamana www.putrapalace.com Perlis 100
44 Queenspark Hotel www.queensparkhotel.com.my Malacca 50
45 S2 Hotel www.s2hotel.com Negeri Sembilan 76
46 Sama-Sama
Express KL
International Hotel
www.samasamaexpress.com Selangor 80
47 Sempurna Hotel www.sempurna.com.my Pahang 108
48 Seri Malaysia
Seremban
www.serimalaysia.com.my Negeri Sembilan 50
49 Suraya Hotel No website Pahang 30
50 Sutera Inn Prima www.suterainn.com Kelantan 90
51 Tang Dynasty
Hotel
www.hoteltangdynasty.com Sabah 203
52 Temenggong Hotel www.kelantanhotels.net Kelantan 37
53 Timotel Hotel www.timotel.com.my Johor 44
54 UiTM Hotel No website Selangor 40
55 Wira Hotel Kuala
Lumpur
www.wirahotel.com.my Kuala Lumpur 130