Maja Šerić

ICT, IMC, and brand equity in high-quality hotels of Dalmatia: an analysis from guest perceptions.

The concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) has received considerable attention in the marketing literature over the past decade. Boosted by advancements in information and communication technology (ICT), IMC is starting to be considered as an element that contributes to creation of brand equity. This research studies, in greater detail, the IMC, ICT, and brand-equity concepts in the hotel sector, while adopting a consumer-centric approach. In particular, it intends to describe the relationships that exist between these variables through the causal model of investigation. A total of 101 guests were interviewed in 13 hotels in Dalmatia, the largest region on the coast of Croatia. The analysis of guest perceptions, using the partial least square technique, confirms a positive influence of ICT on IMC implementation as well as a positive impact of IMC on dimensions of hotel brand equity: (a) brand image, (b) perceived quality, and (c) brand loyalty.

Insights on integrated marketing communications: implementation and impact in hotel companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights on integrated marketing communications (IMC) by empirically examining the concept in a new context, that is hotel companies, and comparing its implementation and impact in Italian and Croatian hotels. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses survey methodology to assess IMC, approaching managers and guests in high-quality hotels. Findings – From the manager’s point of view, both Italian and Croatian hotels show a high level of IMC implementation and significant differences regarding some items. From the guest’s point of view, significant differences are obtained between the two hotel groups. In addition, IMC is found to influence positively and significantly customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – This research is limited to the Italian and Croatian hotel context. Future studies should approach a greater number of hotels to obtain more representative results. Practical implications – Managers need to adopt a holistic vision ...

Loyalty in High-Quality Hotels of Croatia: From Marketing Initiatives to Customer Brand Loyalty Creation

In order to increase brand loyalty and build permanent relationships with their customers, hotel companies are embracing new marketing and communication initiatives, such as integrated marketing communications (IMC) and loyalty programs, both supported by advancements in information and communication technology (ICT). The purpose of this research is to study in greater detail loyalty, IMC, and ICT concepts in high-quality hotels of Croatia from the points of view of the hotel and the guest. The findings show a high degree of IMC and ICT adoption and a moderate degree of development of loyalty programs in hotels. Moreover, they confirm a positive influence of ICT on IMC implementation as well as a positive impact of IMC on loyalty.

Can advanced technology affect customer-based brand equity in service firms? An empirical study in upscale hotels

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the impact of perceived information and communication technology (ICT) on creation of brand equity within service firms, more specifically upscale hotels. The relationships between ICT and three brand equity dimensions, i.e. brand image, perceived quality, and brand loyalty are examined. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical research was conducted in 20 upscale hotels in Rome-Italy, collecting data from 335 guests. Findings – Advanced ICT directly influences perceived quality and image, while the impact of ICT on loyalty is mediated by perceived quality. Additionally, positive and significant relationships are found between the three brand equity dimensions. Research limitations/implications – The lack of significance of ICT impact on loyalty needs further attention. Future studies could center on this specific relationship, examining whether hotel companies that implement technology efficiently are able to deal with loyalty. Practical impli...

Consumer-Generated Reviews on Social Media and Brand Relationship Outcomes in the Fast-Food Chain Industry

ABSTRACT A number of studies agree on the fact that social media users tend to trust more the contents created by other users than those generated by companies’ marketing departments or advertising agencies. However, little is known regarding whether social media can actually enhance brand trust and other brand relationship outcomes that are deemed critical to the hospitality marketing literature. This paper seeks to offer some important insight on this issue by examining the impact of consumer-generated reviews on social media on four main pillars of the relationship marketing paradigm, i.e., satisfaction, trust, commitment, and loyalty. The inter-relationship between brand outcomes is also examined. The findings suggest that consumer-generated reviews on social media exert a direct impact on affective brand commitment and an indirect impact on brand loyalty. However, their influence on brand satisfaction and trust appears to be insignificant. The inter-relationship between brand relationship outcomes is also corroborated.

Exploring relationships between customer-based brand equity and its drivers and consequences in the hotel context. An impact-asymmetry assessment

The development of customer-based brand equity plays a critical role in tourism. This paper attempts to study which variables contribute to brand equity creation and to examine whether brand loyalty can be considered as a consequence of brand equity in the hotel context. In addition, it seeks to provide more detailed insights into possible asymmetric effects among customer-based brand equity and its drivers and consequences. Four constructs are found to influence significantly brand equity: two perceptual (image and perceived quality) and two relational variables (trust and affective commitment). Additionally, both behavioural and attitudinal components of loyalty are confirmed as brand equity outcomes. The impact-asymmetry analysis reveals that perceived quality does not play a significant role in explaining brand equity, while awareness and trust emerge to have a significant negatively asymmetric impact. The paper is novel as the proposed model includes two new variables that are deemed critical to hospitality research, that is, trust and affective commitment. The relationship structure of the model is new to the literature as loyalty is conceptualized as a consequence of brand equity, thus confirming theoretical assumptions with limited empirical evidence. Finally, it is the first study that examines asymmetric impacts of customer-based brand equity drivers.

Content analysis of the empirical research on IMC from 2000 to 2015

ABSTRACT The overall objective of this paper is to build upon previous empirical research into integrated marketing communications (IMC) and to provide guidelines for future research. A total of 80 empirical studies on IMC published between 2000 and 2015 are examined and systematically presented and discussed. IMC implementation, impact, perception, measurement and its relationship with technology emerge as five main research topics. Researchers seem to prefer quantitative research over qualitative and descriptive statistics analysis over more elaborated techniques. Europe is established as the top IMC research region, followed by America and Asia. Communication, education, retailing and tourism are the most frequently examined sectors, mostly approached from the managers’ perspective. Owing to the fact that only a limited number of journal articles are reviewed, this contribution only offers a snapshot of the research field. However, the paper enables academics to discover possible directions for future IMC research. This work makes a novel contribution as it provides the first attempt to identify the emerging research on IMC in the last 15 years by presenting systematically 80 empirical studies according to their research objectives, implemented methods and data analyses, examined samples or units of analysis, covered geographical areas and sectors and, finally, research findings.

Customer-based brand equity building Empirical evidence from Croatian upscale hotels

The marketing literature suggested that customers are adding incremental value to a product by its brand, conceptualizing this phenomenon in terms of brand equity. This article is a contribution to this area of study as it provides a new understanding of the process of brand equity building, when approached from the customer point of view. The empirical research is centred on the hospitality industry, more specifically, upscale (i.e. four- and five-star) hotels in Croatia. The data were collected from 475 guests in 24 upscale hotels. The results reveal that image and loyalty exert a direct impact on the overall brand equity, while the influence of trust and affective commitment is mediated by loyalty.

Airline loyalty determinants among business travelers: empirical evidence from Croatia

Abstract Airline passenger loyalty has been the subject of several studies set within a general travel context. These studies have helped understanding the influence of variables like brand equity, airline service levels, customer commitment, but also price in tying a passenger to a particular airline. Despite the great economic importance of the business traveler market, no study has, however, so far, exclusively focused on this traveler segment and tried to investigate drivers of repurchase intentions and loyalty of this specific traveler type. This study aims to address this research gap. The findings reveal that business passenger loyalty is far stronger driven by emotional than rational elements, in particular trust. Accordingly, airlines aiming to tie business travelers should set the focus of relationship marketing activities primarily to affective than calculative commitment building.

Analysing the fulfilment of service recovery paradox in retailing

Abstract The literature dealing with the Service Recovery Paradox (SRP) is vast, but some results are confusing and contradictory. In addition to this, scarce attention has been paid to service recovery in the context of retailing. This paper aims at verifying the compliance of the SRP in the context of retailing. Considering a sample of consumers that experienced a failure in the service delivered by a retailer and are very satisfied with the solution provided by the store employee, we test first the fulfilment of the SRP in the context of retailing. Secondly, we test the existence of significant differences in the customer satisfaction levels with the store before and after experiencing the problem considering several factors potentially influencing the impact of service recovery on customer satisfaction, therefore providing an encompassing analysis of the SRP and its main influencing variables, including some potential factors not previously explored. While we do not find evidence of the fulfilment of the SRP in retailing, differences in customer satisfaction before and after service recovery are highly related with consumer sociodemographic characteristics and shopping experience. Findings raise some practical implications.