INTRODUCTION

Since the early 1990s, communication integration has become the central topic in marketing communication (marcom) literature (Cornelissen and Lock, 2000, 2001) and after almost 20 years of investigation and debate continues to be a concept of great interest and importance for marketing practitioners and academics alike (Anantachart, 2004; Grove et al, 2007; Shimp, 2007; Christensen et al, 2009).

The advancement of information and communication technology (ICT) is considered as one of the most significant driving forces of integrated marketing communications (IMC) (Caywood, 1997; Reich, 1998; Kitchen and Schultz, 1999; McGoon, 1999; Schultz and Kitchen, 2000; Maddox, 2001; Clow and Baack, 2002; Duncan, 2002; McKim, 2002; Semenik, 2002; Kim et al, 2004; Kitchen et al, 2004; De Pelsmacker et al, 2005; Holm, 2006; Jiménez-Castillo et al, 2006; Del Barrio García, 2008; Gurаu, 2008). It is an important source of competitive advantage (Gil et al, 2007) that provides companies with new management possibilities (Berenguer Contrí et al, 2009). Schultz (1999, p. 337) states that IMC ‘appears to be the natural evolution of traditional mass-media advertising, which has been changed, adjusted, and redefined as a result of new technologies’. Several denominations that reflect the synergy between the IMC and ICT have been found in the literature, such as: (a) Interactive Integrated Marketing Communication (Peltier et al, 2003; Kliatchko, 2005); (b) Integrated Web-based Marketing Communication (Barker and Angelopulo, 2004; Angelopulo and Barker, 2005); (c) Online Marketing Communications (Jensen and Jepsen, 2008); (d) Integrated Online Marketing Communication (Gurаu, 2008); (e) Interactive Marketing Communications (Keller, 2009) and so on. The basic idea of these approaches is the interactive nature of new media and the creation of personalized messages consistent with the communication campaign theme (Peltier et al, 2003).

The research of empirical studies published during the last decade shows that IMC implementation has been studied in different countries all over the world. However, further contributions are needed to consolidate the concept (McGrath, 2005). In addition, only a few studies have been carried out concerning this subject in the tourism sector (for example, Kulluvaara and Tornberg, 2003; Skinner, 2005; Elliott and Boshoff, 2008; Wang et al, 2009). Furthermore, no studies were found regarding the application of IMC in Croatia, the country whose tourism sector is at its very peak after the recent war. The same also refers to hotels, including high-quality properties, which has made this investigation particularly interesting.

Therefore, this article aims to study in greater detail the IMC and ICT topics in high-class hotels in the Dalmatia region. After the introduction, an overview of the research of IMC implementation in the tourism sector and ICT application in the hotel sector is summarized. Basic characteristics of the Croatian hotel sector are presented, followed by research methodology and results. Finally, conclusions, limitations and future research possibilities are pointed out.

LITERATURE REVIEW

IMC in the tourism sector

The review of 40 empirical studies concerning IMC application published during the last decade reveals the existence of four studies focused on its implementation in tourism, as presented in Table 1.

Table 1 IMC implementation in the tourism sector
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The study of Kulluvaara and Tornberg (2003), for example, was restricted to a case study of Icehotel – a hotel built of ice and snow and a Swedish tourist attraction. The aim of the study was to describe the hotel's IMC strategy and the use of different communication tools. The results confirmed the hotel's successful IMC strategy, as its message was consistent throughout all the communication tools. Moreover, it showed that public relations and product placement were used as a substitute for advertising when creating publicity.

On the other hand, in his research about IMC implementation during place branding, Skinner (2005) analyzed the messages that the nation's key stakeholders sent out on web pages and in key documents while promoting Wales. The results indicated the violation of the ‘one-voice’ principle of IMC through the inconsistent promotion of the country, based on different images and weak messages (different logos and inconsistent use of color) within and between organizations. Therefore, as the same author pointed out, the question regarding the possibility of achieving the real integration of marketing communications still remains, as many different messages often have to reach different targets (Wheeler, 1995; Anholt, 2004), and as meeting the needs of one segment might reduce the possibility of meeting the needs of another (Hannagan, 1992).

Moreover, the study of Elliott and Boshoff (2008), carried out in small tourism businesses in South Africa, showed the positive impact of: (a) market orientation, (b) entrepreneurial orientation and (c) pro-active competitor orientation on IMC implementation.

Finally, in their research on the role of IMC on selection of heritage destination, Wang et al (2009) suggested the measurement of IMC from the consumer perspective. After interviewing 197 visitors of Lukang during the spring of 2007, the authors identified three factors of IMC: (a) direct sale and promotion, (b) public relations and (c) advertisement, all measured by 21 items. The findings revealed that the influence of each factor changed within different demographic groups. No differences on the IMC factors were found between genders nor between educational levels.

ICT in the hotel sector

Despite the poor initial ICT adoption propensity in the tourism industry, it is currently an essential tool and ‘integral factor of strategy creation’ (Sánchez Pérez et al, 2001, p. 71) that will lead a new world in the hotel sector (Dev and Olsen, 2000). Its impact on relationship marketing is remarkable (Moller and Halinen, 2000; Gummesson, 2002; Sheth, 2002; Durkin and Howcroft, 2003; Ruiz Molina et al, 2010b), as it made possible the storing and processing of a great amount of information about the clients, in order to carry out personalized marketing campaigns, which permits the fulfillment of the special needs of every single client (Shapiro and Varian, 2000). Table 2 gathers some studies about ICT application in the hotel sector, showing the type of hotels that tend to use it, and the impact it has on relationship marketing.

Table 2 ICT application in the hotel sector
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From the 1990s the use of new technologies in the hotel sector started to be considered not only in terms of productivity, but also in terms of intangible benefits, such as client service and satisfaction (Cho and Connolly, 1996; Siguaw and Enz, 1999; Law and Jogaratnam, 2005) and as an incentive to establish intra-company, inter-company and customer relationships (Buhalis and Main, 1998; Morrison et al, 1999; Bai et al, 2003; Jang et al, 2006; Daghfous and Barkhi, 2009).

The study of Jang et al (2006) showed a strong canonical correlation between the level of website development in relationship marketing and financial performance. After identifying three levels of relationships between the hotels and their clients – (a) basic level (product and company information, online reservations, and contact); (b) accountable level (FAQ, security alert, cancellation or change of reservation, feedback and so on); and (c) partnership level (loyalty programs, personalized account and so on) – the results indicated that as the degree of relationship level progressed the hotels tended to underutilize their websites as a relationship marketing tool.

The tendency of companies to adopt ICT increases with the hotel category (for example, Siguaw et al, 2000; Sahadev and Islam, 2005; Daghfous and Barkhi, 2009). The study of Abella-Garcés et al (2004) indicated that there was no positive association between the use of e-commerce and the hotel age.

Nevertheless, managers’ doubts around the efficacy of ICT investments seem to persist (Cho and Connolly, 1996; Kirk and Pine, 1998; Luck and Lancaster, 2003). The studies of Frey et al (2003) and Murphy et al (2003), carried out in 200 Swiss hotels, found that prospects had less than a one in 10 chance of receiving a quick, polite and personal reply. In addition, Ruiz Molina et al (2010a) have pointed out that, owing to the complexity of CRM solutions, the level of understanding of their possibilities, their value and the way they work is low (Magnini et al, 2003) and that successful hotels will be those that use ICT effectively, with the aim of instantly satisfying clients’ variable desires and needs (Olsen and Connolly, 2000).

Croatian hotel sector

At present, the Republic of Croatia considers tourism as one of the main strategic tools for its development (Bunja, 2003). According to data released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics – CROSTAT – in August 2010, the number of tourist arrivals in all commercial accommodation facilities in the country increased by +0.7 per cent and the number of tourist nights increased by +4.5 per cent, as compared to August 2009. Tourists spent 19 002 424 tourist nights (7.3 per cent by domestic and 92.7 per cent by foreign tourists). Whereas the number of domestic tourist nights decreased by −1.9 per cent, the number of foreign tourist nights increased by +5.0 per cent. Regarding the structure of foreign tourist nights, most of them (74.3 per cent) were spent by tourists from: Germany (22.5 per cent), Italy (15.1 per cent), Slovenia (10.3 per cent), the Czech Republic (8.0 per cent), Austria (7.3 per cent), Poland (6.1 per cent) and Slovakia (5.0 per cent) (CROSTAT, October 2010).

Croatia has 581 categorized hotels with 50 885 accommodation units. Twenty-three of them are five-star hotels (15 of them in Dalmatia), 150 are four-star hotels (68 of them in Dalmatia), 313 are three-star hotels and 95 are two-star hotels (Ministry of Tourism – Republic of Croatia, October 2010).

The Croatian hotel sector is still mainly managed by the personnel employed from the former economic and educational systems, which leads to an urgent need to engage new employees who have the necessary expertise and are capable of managing the business activities according to international management standards and present market conditions (Bunja, 2003). In their study about the service quality in the hotel sector of the city of Split – the biggest city in Dalmatia and the second biggest city in Croatia – Pepur and Pivčević (2009) observed that all five SERVQUAL dimensions need to be improved in order to satisfy the guests’ needs, paying particular attention to tangible elements of the hotel service and personnel's kindness.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODOLOGY

This article aims to explore in greater detail the IMC and ICT concepts in the tourism sector, specifically in Dalmatian first-class (four-star) and luxury (five-star) hotels.

The literature review has indicated the considerable impact of ICT on the hotel sector. The hotels that are more inclined to adopt ICT are high-class hotels (for example, Siguaw et al, 2000; Sahadev and Islam, 2005; Daghfous and Barkhi, 2009). On the basis of this finding, the first research question is proposed:

Q1:

  • Analyze the application of ICT in high-class Dalmatian hotels and observe whether there are differences between the first-class (four-star) and the luxury (five-star) hotels.

ICT is considered in the literature as one of the most important background factors of IMC. Furthermore, IMC has been widely accepted and implemented as a new paradigm all over the world (Peltier et al, 2003; Edmiston-Strasser, 2009; Kitchen and Schultz, 2009). However, no studies have been found with regard to the implementation of IMC in Croatia, nor in first-class and luxury hotels. Hence, the second research question is proposed:

Q2:

  • Study the implementation of IMC in high-class Dalmatian hotels and observe whether there are differences between the first-class (four-star) and the luxury (five-star) hotels.

The empirical study was conducted during April and May 2010 in Dalmatia, which is the largest of the three tourist regions on the coast of Croatia. The census consisted of 17 Dalmatian hotels: 8 first-class and 9 luxury hotels. Owing to characteristics of the Croatian hotel sector, a census for the study was selected on the basis of the hotels’ connection to the Association of Hoteliers of Split and Dalmatia and the firm Marcon, both innovators and globally relevant Croatian sources of know-how, focused on the promotion and development of tourism in the area. Similarly, hotels in the Dubrovnik city area were approached.

The data were collected through a structured questionnaire. The initial version, pre-tested on two hotel directors, was reduced in order to shorten its duration. The revised questionnaire consisted of closed questions measured by 5-point Likert-type scales and was written in Croatian and English. It was mainly administered through personal interviews (in two hotels it was administered through telephone interviews, whereas in another two hotels it was self-administered). The technical details of the research are summarized in Table 3.

Table 3 Technical details of the research
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In order to measure ICT application, the adapted scale proposed by Ruiz-Molina et al (2010a) was used: (a) 17 items assessed hotels’ hardware equipment; (b) 5 measured connection; (c) 7 applied to software equipment; and (d) 12 items evaluated ICT equipment for guest service during his/her stay in the hotel. IMC implementation was measured by Lee and Park's scale (2007). As the same authors suggested, this scale needs to be validated in a European context. Furthermore, this scale represents improvements over the previous IMC scales, as it was designed specifically for the development of IMC scale and not for another purpose, its procedures are methodologically more rigorous, and it is more comprehensive than other scales (Lee and Park, 2007). On the basis of previous IMC studies and definitions, this scale identified four IMC dimensions: (a) unified communications for consistent message and image; (b) differentiated communications to multiple customer groups; (c) database-centered communications for tangible results; and (d) relationship fostering communications with existing customers. The scale consisted of 18 items: 5 items were used to measure the first dimension, 5 the second, 4 the third and 4 the last dimension.

RESULTS OF DESCRIPTIVE STATISTIC ANALYSIS

Owing to the small census of 17 hotels, descriptive statistic analysis was carried out for data analysis, using SPSS software – version 15. Means and standard deviation for all ICT items are reported in Table 4.

Table 4 Descriptive statistic analysis: Hotels’ ICT implementation
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The results indicated a relatively high degree of ICT adoption. Particularly, means greater than 3.99 were related to: (a) different hardware items (PC computer=5.00; mobile telephone=4.88; server=4.76; laptop=4.71; home automation systems=4.65; LCD screen=4.59; electronic cash register=4.59; point of sale systems=4.53; telephone exchange=4.47; digital telephone=4.00); (b) some connection items (Internet connection=4.71; Wi-Fi=4.65; local area connection with cable=4.06); (c) almost all software items (office automation programs=5.00; security systems=4.82; informatics invoicing systems=4.65; information analysis=4.29; specific department applications=4.24); and (d) a few items that measured the equipment for guest service during his/her stay in the hotel (LCD screen=4.59; video surveillance=4.53; digital telephone=4.00). However, the results revealed poor adoption of some connection items (WiMAX=1.29; Bluetooth=1.82) and of some equipment for guest service items (stereo in rooms=1.24; touchscreen=1.41; interactive TV=1.82).

Comparing the two hotel categories, five-star hotels have showed a higher degree of ICT implementation, especially of the following facilities: laptop, personal digital assistant, digital telephone, touchscreen, point of sale systems, specific department applications, some equipment for guest service during his/her stay in the hotel (satellite digital TV, DTT, Interactive TV, DVD and stereo in rooms, digital telephone, ambient intelligence) and so on. However, four-star hotels adopted more of the following ICT applications: mobile telephone, fax, telephone exchange, LCD screen, DTT, DVD, home automation systems, software security systems, information analysis, simulators, video surveillance, cable TV and analogical telephone in rooms. Furthermore, first-class hotels showed a greater propensity to adopt Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection than luxury hotels, whereas luxury hotels were more inclined to use local area connection with cable and WiMAX.

On the other hand, as illustrated in Table 5, means for the IMC items were greater than 3.99 for all items except the one that measured the differentiation of the buyer and the user within hotels’ marcom strategy (M=3.59). Hotels seemed to give special attention to: (a) generating a continuous flow of profits from individual customers in the long run by solidifying relationships with them (M=4.82); (b) creation of more than two target customer groups (M=4.76); (c) maintaining existing customers, as well as recruiting new ones (M=4.76); (d) generating continuous business with existing customers and enhancement of their satisfaction level (M=4.76); (e) consistency in all visual components of communication (M=4.71); and (f) inducement of customer's actions (M=4.71).

Table 5 Descriptive statistic analysis: hotels’ IMC implementation
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Comparing first-class and luxury hotels, surprisingly, the results showed that a degree of IMC implementation decreased with the hotel category, completely regarding the first two dimensions – unified communications for consistent message and image, and differentiated communications to multiple customer groups – and partially regarding the third one – database-centered communications for tangible results. Only three items of the fourth dimension – relationship fostering communications with existing customers – were more adopted in luxury hotels, particularly: (a) marcom activities that strengthen the relationship with existing customers; (b) maintaining existing customers, as well as recruiting new ones; (c) generating continuous business from existing customers and enhancement of their satisfaction level.

CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

Changes produced in the market have led to changes in the practice of marketing and communication management (Kitchen et al, 2004). Consequently, one single marketing communication tool could not achieve marketing communication purposes by itself (Garber and Dotson, 2002). This is why at the beginning of the 1990s the IMC approach appeared. ICT has been one of the most significant driving forces of this change, as it centers on consumer orientation and creation of databases, the basic characteristics of IMC (Schultz, 2003). In other words, if the ideas of integration, coordination and customer orientation are not new, the fact that new technologies have made it possible to put these classical ideas into actual practice is new (Kliatchko, 2005, 2008).

The purpose of this study was to contribute to IMC and ICT research in the Dalmatian hotel industry. The results of descriptive statistic analysis demonstrated a high degree of implementation of both constructs. Furthermore, ICT application increased with the hotel category, whereas surprisingly IMC implementation decreased.

However, the small hotel census is the main limitation of the study. It should be noted that Croatia in general and Dalmatia in particular have a low number of first-class and luxury hotels. Furthermore, a great part of the Croatian hotel management personnel (high-class hotels inclusive) is still anchored to the former economic and educational system, which might have influenced the quality of the replies. Therefore, future studies need to concentrate on areas that have a bigger hotel census characterized, in addition to more innovative management. Finally as two of the most recognized IMC researchers – Kitchen and Schultz – have recently pointed out, there is a need for a greater alignment between the brand and marketing communications when generating customer loyalty (Kitchen and Schultz, 2009). Hence, future research might focus on the customer and reconsider the role of IMC in the hotel sector in relation to brand equity and its dimensions.