The potential consequences of digital marketing adoption: the case of small and medium-sized tourism accomodation enterprises in Vietnam

This qualitative study is the first attempt to explore the potential consequences of digital marketing adoption in small and medium-sized tourism accommodation enterprises. Fourteen cases of tourism accommodation establishments in the central coast region of Vietnam were investigated by interviewing owners or managers. The template analysis was applied to analyze the interview data. The findings confirm that the most potential consequences of digital marketing adoption are branding capability, customer engagement capability, service innovation capability, customer orientation, and firm performance. When applying digital marketing, enterprises must improve their branding and customer engagement capability to achieve customer acquisition, which helps optimize room occupancy, revenue, and profitability. Customer engagement capability is critical because it impacts branding and service innovation capabilities. The findings extend the discussion on dynamic capability theory in explaining the impact of adopting new technology in tourism enterprises.