Leveraging collective resources for digital transformation: The role of tourism trade associations under the resource-based view
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
In the digital age, while hospitality and tourism (H&T) firms accelerate digital transformation to stay competitive, the role of tourism trade associations as external resource providers in these firms’ digital transformation process remains underexplored. Drawing on resource-based theory (RBT), this study examines how tourism trade associations influence H&T firms’ digital transformation and explores the moderating effects of marketization and business climate. Using 2,049 firm-year observations of 144 publicly listed H&T firms (2009–2022), this study finds evidence suggesting that tourism trade associations facilitate digital transformation. Crucially, we find that marketization and business climate negatively moderate this relationship, indicating a substitution effect where tourism trade associations play a more vital compensatory role in regions with lower marketization and less favorable business climates. These findings highlight the critical role of firms in leveraging collective industry resources for technological advancement. Accordingly, our research provides theoretical contributions to RBT by extending its traditional firm-centric focus and enriching the digital transformation literature, as well as practical insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders.
Keywords
business climate, digital transformation, marketization, tourism trade associations
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
ISSN
13548166
Publication Title
Tourism Economics
Publisher
Sage
School
School of Education
RAS ID
99673
Funding Information
This research is supported by the Key Project of the Jiangxi Provincial Social Science Foundation (25ZXQH14) and the Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China (22YJC630143).
Copyright
subscription content
Content Type
Metadata only
Recommended Citation
Zheng, T., Zhang, K., Huang, S., & Hu, B. (2026). Leveraging collective resources for digital transformation: The role of tourism trade associations under the resource-based view. Tourism Economics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548166261465455