This paper examines the relationship between digitalization and sustainable development and presents the composite index used for measuring the digital competitiveness of nations – the Digital ...Economy and Society Index (DESI). Today’s environment is highly dependent on technological capabilities. Tracking contemporary technological development is becoming crucial at both micro and macro level. One of the major revolutions in modern business is switching from traditional to digital business models for achieving higher competitiveness level. Digitalization is one of the primary impetus of today’s development. To accept and implement these changes, it is important to highlight the macromarketing role in this process. It is necessary to have concrete measures for identifying the shortcomings, good practices, and track the development. For this purpose, European Commission developed DESI to measure digital performance of European Union countries. This paper examines the DESI methodology and observes how the digital performance of EU affects main sustainable development components: economic, social, and environmental. Thus, the paper explores the correlations of DESI and other composite indices that measure sustainability components. Besides, the research examined the relationships between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and digital performance. The paper highlights the importance of digitalization as another crucial component of society’s sustainable development.
Perceived service quality is a well-researched concept in the marketing literature. Several measurement scales have been proposed, including for banking services, but most apply to the physical ...service environment. On the other hand, there is a lack of instruments available to measure the quality of banking services in a digital environment. Nowadays, especially pushed by the COVID-19 situation and sustainable development goals promoted by the United Nations, digitalization of services is a new normal. It is often perceived as a green banking practice and a prerequisite to contribute to the SDGs and environment per se. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a perceived quality scale of e-banking services. The proposed measurement model was tested on a convenience sample of 335 respondents from Slovenia and Croatia via web-based questionnaires. Content validity, construct validity, dimensionality, and discriminant validity were assessed with EFA and CFA. The results prove that the instrument is appropriate for measuring the perceived quality of e-banking services. It measures six dimensions: efficiency, availability, contact, design, security, and fulfillment. Additional group analysis shows that the scale applies to different cultural contexts. The main limitation of the research is that the instrument measures only the perceived quality of e-banking services provided through online channels. The main theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.
Purpose – Today's tourists are increasingly looking for an active, healthy and meaningful way to spend their time at a destination. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to determine the key ...dimensions of memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) that influence tourists' satisfaction with the vacation experience motivated by the beauty of nature and landscape, as well as the impact of satisfaction with vacation experience on behavioural intentions. Design – Using a structured questionnaire on pencil and paper, data were collected from a sample of 334 travellers who were citizens of the Republic of Croatia and whose primary motive for travel was to visit a natural attraction. Methodology/approach – The questionnaire adopted previously validated scales and was used to explore MTEs, satisfaction with the vacation experience and behavioural intentions. The hypotheses were empirically tested using partial least square structural equation modelling. Findings – The results show that not all MTE dimensions influence satisfaction with the vacation experience among tourists whose primary travel motive was the beauty of nature and landscape. Hedonism, refreshment, and involvement as MTE dimensions had a statistically significant influence on satisfaction with the vacation experience. In addition, satisfaction with the vacation experience had a statistically significant influence on several behavioural intentions, with the strongest influence on intention to recommend. Originality of the research – Tourists in nature-based destinations were found to exhibit specific behaviours, as not all MTE dimensions contribute equally to satisfaction with the vacation experience. This study extends the body of knowledge on tourism experience theory by empirically testing its premises on tourists motivated by the beauty of nature and landscape.
Purpose – In the hotel industry, as in all services, the goal is to have satisfied employees who are engaged in their job. From a marketing perspective, one of the possible ways companies can achieve ...that is by adopting internal marketing practices. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to research the relationship between internal marketing and different dimensions of employee engagement (emotional, cognitive and physical) in the hotel industry. Design/Methodology/Approach – The data was collected through a paper-and-pencil questionnaire on a sample of 573 hotel employees in Croatia. Adapted scales from previous research were used for measuring research constructs using the back-translation technique. Conceptual model and hypotheses were tested with covariance based structural equation modelling. Findings and implications – The results show that internal marketing had a positive and statistically significant impact on emotional and cognitive engagement. Cognitive engagement, in turn, had a positive impact on emotional and physical engagement, while emotional engagement had a positive impact on physical engagement.Limitations – The use of self-evaluations could potentially cause social desirability bias. The study is limited only to Croatian hotels, which might vary from hotel industries in other parts of the world. Originality – This paper contributes to the development of internal marketing, as it identifies the relationship between internal marketing and different forms of employee engagement. Employee engagement is approached multidimensionally as consisting of emotional, cognitive and physical engagement. By distinguishing different engagement dimensions, the paper contributes to the theory of personal engagement with testing employee engagement concept in the hotel industry.
Introduction and objectives: A broad body of knowledge is developing around the influence of market and entrepreneurial orientation on business performance. However, high-tech firms in the embryonic ...(R&D and start-up) phase of development have stayed off the research radars. Taking a resource-based view, this study examined the role of market and entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of new ventures within a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem of Serbia. Methods: The study is based on primary data gathered via a questionnaire and examined tech ventures founders from Serbia whose ventures are in either research and development or start-up phase. Results: The findings confirm that both market and entrepreneurial orientation play an immense role in the embryonic phase and throughout the process of launching a new tech firm. Conclusion: The study found that market orientation primarily influences problem discovery, value proposition and product designing, as well as team gathering. Entrepreneurial orientation more significantly affects performance in the context of MVP creation, first customer acquisition, initial revenue stream and investment for the next phase of tech venture development. Implications and research limitation: The study suggests that new ventures leaders have to develop both market and entrepreneurial competences. At the beginning, they should invest more into the activities related to market orientation, and during the further tech venture development, entrepreneurial orientation leads to finalization of a product/service development and its commercialization. Even though this study provides useful and valuable insights, it does not reflect all concepts of entrepreneurial success and a larger sample size from other geographical regions would be more suitable for the generalizability of study findings. Yet, the implications of the study are highly relevant for Serbian ecosystem as the business environment is not stimulating enough for growth and development of new ventures, and consequently founders have to rely on their own competencies and knowledge.
Purpose - The main aim of this case study is to explain the digital marketing strategy for different target segments of Accor Hotels, the most diversified hotel player. Design - We present a business ...case study about Accor Hotels, together with teaching notes that teachers will be able to use in the classroom. Methodology - The business case study methodological approach, using secondary data from a variety of valuable sources, was applied to present the success story of the digital marketing strategy of Accor Hotels. The case study consists of the Opening paragraph, Introduction, Hospitality industry players, About Accor Hotels, Customer journey in the hospitality industry, Digital marketing strategy for Accor Hotels, Conclusion and Teaching notes. Approach - Authors are focusing on a case study example to present best practices from the hospitality indstry in the era of digitalization. Findings - The major input for developing the right digital marketing strategy is understanding the stages of the digital customer journey. The case study present the hotels' current (loyal) and potential clients as well as hotel marketing strategies. Marketing strategies include changes in the hotel portfolio offering, different pricing levels, communication and content marketing strategy, and partnership deals with all players in the hospitality industry. This case study is interesting for both the academia and industry experts. Originality of the research - We explain how hotel managers define client value proposition for Accor Hotels, with a better understanding of modern trends in the hospitality industry: digitalization, personalization, innovative business models and faster response to client needs. This case study is intended for teaching in Digital Marketing or Hospitality Management courses for masters or undergraduate students.
The focus on building and developing partner relationships can help hotels to improve their business. Consequently, relationships with partners like: suppliers, hotel guests, tourist agencies, ...tourist offices and employees are developed as they react to environmental changes and consequently influence perceived financial and non-financial hotel performance. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to explore partner relationships and their influence on perceived hotel performance. Based on previous literature, a conceptual model has been developed and empirically tested through a questionnaire applied on a sample of hotel managers in Croatia. Scales from previous literature were used. The sample consists of 266 managers in hotels. The results were analysed using multiple regression analysis and these constructs have been tested for their reliability and validity through confirmatory factor analysis. Research findings indicate that relationship quality elements contribute to the development of perceived hotel financial and non-financial performance. Commitment and satisfaction influence perceived hotel performance while trust is found to have no effect. Moreover, commitment has more influence on perceived non-financial performance and satisfaction, than perceived financial performance. The study demonstrates different influences that relationship quality elements have over perceived financial and non-financial hotel performance.
LOYALTY TRENDS AND ISSUES IN TOURISM RESEARCH Laškarin Ažić, Marina; Dlačić, Jasmina; Suštar, Natali
Tourism and hospitality management,
05/2020, Volume:
26, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Purpose - Loyalty, a behavioural pattern of guests, is an unpredictable phenomenon, changeable over time, adaptable to market trends and measurable only through market research. Previous research has ...confirmed that loyalty is not an isolated variable described only through loyalty behaviour or loyalty attitude, but rather it is interdependent on both behaviour and attitude. However, within loyalty research there are many open questions, which need to be addressed by researchers in the field of tourism and hospitality. Thus, this paper provides a unique perspective on previous research, including loyalty taxonomy, loyalty constructs, and directly and indirectly connected variables to loyalty in research models. Methodology - For the purpose of this paper, the authors applied content analysis. Based on a keyword search on the Web of Science platform (database Web of Science Core Collection), 112 articles published in leading tourism and hospitality business journals were identified as relevant for the study. Findings - The study contributes to a better understanding of tourist loyalty research by identifying shortcomings of previous research. Among the most common shortcomings are selective research focus and uninventive research methodology. Therefore, the current study suggests multi-level loyalty model development as a more innovative framework for future research. Originality of the research - Since this study brings an overview of the four most commonly researched topics in tourism loyalty research, the results will be beneficial for scientists who study the broader aspects of the loyalty construct.
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