Platform-enabled innovation adoption in the tourism sector: A case study on Booking.com

This paper presents a case study on the adoption of innovative features offered by a platform to partner firms in the tourism sector. These features are part of an innovation process that, if properly implemented, can improve platform’s functionality while enriching client firms’ and users’ experiences. Our investigation sheds light on the characteristics of firms that are associated with the adoption of platform-enabled innovations. In particular, we consider an online discount feature offered by Booking.com, designed to enhance the lodgings’ visibility in the eyes of customers. This enables us to explore the role of lodging characteristics that are associated with higher probability of embracing innovative practices. The empirical analysis indicates that the propensity to adopt this innovation is positively associated with ratings and user perception, as well as online sales experience and chain affiliation. Conversely, we find no association between the type of lodging and the propensity to adopt the innovative discount feature.