Cloud-Enabled Smart Service Ecosystems and Financial Resilience in Small and Medium Hospitality Enterprises: Integrating SaaS Innovation, ICT Adoption, and Capital Structure Dynamics
Keywords:
Cloud computing, hospitality SMEs, SaaS platformsAbstract
The global hospitality sector has entered a period of structural reconfiguration driven by the convergence of cloud computing, software-as-a-service (SaaS) architectures, and digitally mediated customer experiences. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of hospitality economies across both developed and developing contexts, now operate within digitally dense service ecosystems that were previously accessible only to large multinational hotel chains. The shift from traditional concierge-based service models toward cloud-enabled, data-driven, and platform-mediated interactions has profound implications not only for service design but also for financial sustainability, organizational strategy, and competitive positioning. Recent scholarship on SaaS-driven hospitality transformation has emphasized the emergence of digitally orchestrated service journeys that blur the boundaries between physical and virtual touchpoints, allowing SMEs to achieve levels of personalization, responsiveness, and operational efficiency that were previously unattainable (Goel, 2025). However, despite the growing technological sophistication of hospitality SMEs, persistent structural challenges related to financing, ICT readiness, and strategic governance continue to constrain the full realization of cloud-enabled value creation.
This study develops a theoretically integrated and empirically grounded analysis of how cloud computing and SaaS adoption influence the financial resilience, strategic orientation, and service innovation capabilities of hospitality SMEs. Drawing on a broad interdisciplinary literature that includes SME finance (Sogorb-Mira, 2005; Wagenvoort, 2003), ICT adoption (Ongori, 2009; Bayo-Moriones & Lera-López, 2007), cloud computing theory (Pauly, 2011; Erdogmus, 2009; Goscinski & Brock, 2010), and hospitality technology management (Alsetoohy & Ayoun, 2018), the article positions SaaS platforms as institutional infrastructures that reshape both market access and capital structures. Through an extensive qualitative and interpretive methodology that synthesizes secondary data, conceptual modeling, and cross-contextual comparison, the study demonstrates that cloud-based service architectures reduce entry barriers, improve cash-flow stability, and enable scalable experimentation in service design, yet simultaneously introduce new dependencies on platform governance, cybersecurity, and digital skill regimes (Ibrahim & Musah, 2015; Ishan, 2016).
The results reveal that hospitality SMEs adopting SaaS-based property management, customer relationship management, and procurement systems exhibit enhanced revenue predictability, stronger customer loyalty, and greater investor confidence, particularly when cloud adoption is embedded within coherent strategic and financial planning frameworks. At the same time, firms lacking adequate ICT readiness, managerial competence, or access to venture financing face heightened risks of technological lock-in and operational fragility (Njama, 2013; Mutula & Brakel, 2006). By integrating hospitality-specific service innovation theory with classical SME finance and cloud computing literature, this article advances a comprehensive model of digital financial resilience that explains how SaaS-driven hospitality enterprises can move from reactive survival strategies to proactive growth trajectories. The findings carry significant implications for policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs seeking to foster inclusive, technologically empowered hospitality ecosystems in both advanced and emerging economies.
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