ENTER2016 PhD Workshop 1 The Diffusion of New Technology amongst Small-and- Medium-Sized Hotels (SMHs) in Malaysia Faizal Ayob School of Business Western Sydney University, Australia Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751 Australia F.Ayob@westernsydney.edu.au Abstract This study aims to explore the adoption and implementation of new technology amongst small- and-medium-sized hotels (SMHs) in Malaysia. The Multiple-case study will be employed as a research methodology and six SMHs have been selected. The findings will benefit the Malaysian hotel industry by providing critical information to SMHs to decide whether they should strategically invest to adopt and implement the new technology. The study, thus makes a contribution to the theory development and practices within the diffusion of technology and provide the future research directions. Keywords: Diffusion, New Technologies, Small-and-Medium-Sized Hotels (SMHs) and Malaysian Hotel Industry. 1 Problem Definition The impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) give competitive advantages to all businesses including the hotel industry. Wymer & Regan (2013) urge that despite the potential benefits of adoption and implement of technology by small-and-medium-sized hotels (SMHs) has been slow, most of the large and chain hotels have already adopted and implemented technology in their operations, but in SMHs there is a growing trend to adopt and implement new technologies since identifying barriers to entry. The impact and importance of technology in the hotel industry has had solid strategic implications for industry leaders. Thus, SMHs in Malaysia should be adopting and implementing new technologies since it will have a significant impact on hotel performance. To understand the diffusion of new technologies amongst SMHs in Malaysia, this study addresses three issues: (1) what are the factors influencing hotel owners and managers of SMHs to adopt and implement new technology? (2) What are the current stages of diffusion of new technology amongst SMHs in Malaysia? (3) How the diffusion of new technology will affect hotel performance amongst SMHs in Malaysia? 2 Literature Review 2.1 Overview of Small-and-Medium-Sized-Hotels (SMHs) in Malaysia In the Malaysian hotel industry, SMHs have been defined as hotels with ratings three stars and below. The hotel industry in Malaysia is expecting better business for one star, two star and three star hotels as tourists are expected to downgrade themselves to lower star and cheaper hotels (Jaafar & Zaleha 2011). SMHs are often located in peripheral regions, where the technology revolution is limited and slow compared to the urban area. Hence, the perceived barriers to an effective use of the technology are likely to be even higher peripheral than for urban SMHs (Anckar & Walden 2001).