The adopter's conundrum: Institutional drivers and performance outcomes of innovation in travel distribution

This paper investigates the link between institutionally driven innovation and firm performance within the travel distribution sector. Focusing on the adoption of the New Distribution Capability (NDC), we employ a Difference-in-Differences (DID) methodology on a proprietary dataset of travel agency sales spanning four years. The results provide causal evidence that adoption leads to improved sales performance. Moreover, we identify a clear premium for early adoption, with dynamic effects accelerating over time, indicating that firms faster to adopt obtain superior results. The study contributes to the literature by validating the economic benefits of technological innovation using objective market data rather than subjective measures, offering key insights for managers navigating industry-wide technological shifts.