Tourism and hospitality SMEs and digital marketing: what factors influence their attitude and intention to use from the perspective of BRT, TAM and IRT

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons (for and against) affecting owners' attitudes and intentions to use digital marketing (DM) strategies in tourism and hospitality (T&H) small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by employing the behavioral reasoning theory (BRT). Design/methodology/approach A survey method was used to collect data from 306 T&H (SMEs) owners and analyze the data through partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings The study results indicate that reasons significantly affect owners' attitudes and intentions to use DM in T&H (SMEs). The “RF” was as follows: perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), and trust in DM professionals” and the “RA” technological anxiety, usage barriers (UB), and perceived complexity (PC) effect on owners’ attitudes and intentions to use DM. Also, it indicates that openness to change value significantly affects the “RF” insignificant with “RA” and attitude. Practical implications The findings of this study emphasize that if owners/managers, governments, and policymakers overcome the “RA” that discourages and raises the knowledge about the “RF” in the adoption of DM, then the usage intention of DM strategies can rise in T&H (SMEs). Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the reasons (for and against) the owner’s attitude and intention to use DM in T&H (SMEs) by utilizing behavioral reasoning theory (BRT), technology acceptance model (TAM), and innovation resistance theory (IRT).