Innovative Tourism Startups: an explorative analysis

The chapter intends to analyze the e-business model of a digital firm operating in the travel industry, where facing the challenge of sustainability is fundamental. The aim is to identify distinctive elements related to sustainability of the application of innovative digital technologies without neglecting recent developments linked to legal factors like the rules on fair competition and taxation. The research question is: to what extent do e-business models support sustainable innovations in a real context? To achieve the research objective, the study performs an explorative qualitative analysis based on a single case study, represented by MyTaxi, an innovative digital firm operating in the Italian travel industry. This research provides various contributions to the literature focused on the innovation of business models stimulated by the use of digital technologies and platforms that enhance the interactions among different actors for efficacious pathways to value co-creation. It increases the comprehension of how businesses operating in the travel and tourism industry can innovate their business models to promote sustainable goals. Moreover, there are further insights into the literature on digital firms, by presenting the main characteristics of their business model configurations.