Information Strategy at TravelCom: Searching for InfoRent in the Dutch Travel Industry

This paper reports on a case study at a Dutch travel organization, named TravelCom. The study examines how TravelCom makes strategic use of information by means of their information strategy. In their information strategy, TravelCom decides how to realize InfoRent, i.e. economic rent as a result of solving or maintaining information imperfections in factor and product markets. TravelCom aims at increasing the transparency of factor markets for themselves, thereby maintaining any information imperfections that are disadvantageous for travel component suppliers. Whereas in their product markets, they maintain the existing market opaqueness, preventing consumers from easily comparing their products with those of competitors. At the same time, TravelCom attempts to increase the insight in customer demand by building customer profiles.