How Managers Use Information Systems for Strategy Implementation in Agritourism SMEs

Abstract

Agritourism is long established and the interest in diversification of agricultural enterprises into tourism has increased. However, many challenges have emerged regarding the lack of appropriate skills, strategic planning, Information Systems (IS), as well as increased costs in production processes. In Greece, the contribution of agritourism to economic growth has increased in the last decade, but the relationship between the agricultural sector and agritourism is a reason for certain people having largely taken advantage from the development of tourism in a specific area. Greek businesses operating in the agritourism sector are seeking long-term sustainability. However, they lack strategic planning and effective use of IS. As the strategic implementation of Information Technology (IT) in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the agritourism sector is under-researched, this paper aims to investigate how the process of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) affects the success of Greek SMEs in the agritourism industry. IS executives completed the survey and ANOVA analysis was used for data analysis. The findings of the paper indicate that IS executives do not focus on the analysis of the external environment and the evaluation of opportunities for IS development. In addition, the lack of formulation of the IT strategy creates inefficient and unsuccessful IT projects.