Going digital with multisided-platforms: Assessing the innovation adoption process from the perspectives of travel agents.

This article investigates the adoption of multisided platforms (MSPs)—digital platforms facilitating interactions among multiple participant groups—in the tourism industry by international travel agents as part of their digital transformation. Using qualitative data from seventeen semi-structured interviews with travel agents serving as country representative offices (CROs) for a Turkish MSP provider, the study applies and extends Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory. It confirms the relevance of DOI factors—relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability—and proposes two additional factors, supportability (customer and technical support) and integrability (technical integration capabilities), as critical in the pre-adoption, during-adoption, and post-adoption phases. The findings highlight MSPs' role in granting travel agents, including non-IATA accredited ones, easy, cost-effective access to global travel content and tools, while also identifying challenges related to after-sales support and system integration. The study offers theoretical extensions to innovation adoption models and practical insights for MSP developers, travel agents, and industry stakeholders aiming to enhance digital transformation in travel distribution channels.