The Perception of Omani E-consumers on the Importance and Performance of Dubai SMHs' Website Dimensions and Attributes

Authors: Mohammed G. Montasser, Rehab Y. Zoweil

Abstract:

There is no doubt that Internet technology is widely used by hotels and its demand is constantly booming. Hotels have largely adopted website information services through using different interactive tools, dimensions and attributes to achieve excellence in functionality and usability but these do not necessary equate with website effectiveness. One way to investigate the effectiveness of hotel website is from the perspective ofe-consumers. This exploratory research is to investigate the perceived importance of websites effectiveness of some selected independent small and medium-sized hotels (SMHs) located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from the perspective of Omanie-consumers by using non-random sampling method. From 400 questionnaire addressed to respondents in 27 organizations in Muscat the capital city of Oman, 173 are valid. Findings of this study assist SMHs management in Dubai with the reallocation of their resources and efforts in order to supportebusiness development and to sustain a competitive advantage.

Keywords: Dubai's SMHs, Hotel websites, Omani e-consumer perception, weight and performance evaluation.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1063200

References:

[1] G. Lindgoard, G. Fernandes, C. Dudeck, and J. Brown, "Attention web designers: You have 50 seconds to make a good impression," Journal of Behavior and Information Technology, vol. 25, no. 2, pp.115- 126, 2006.
[2] H. Main, "The expansion of technology in small and medium hospitality enterprises with a focus on net technology," Journal of Information Technology and Tourism, vol.4, pp. 167- 174,2002.
[3] R. Law, and J. Wang, "Successful factors for a travel website: perception of online purchasers in Hong Kong," Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, vol. 27, (1), pp. 118- 124, 2003.
[4] Dubai's department of tourism and commerce marketing, www.dubaitourism.ae (retrieved on 30th June, 7th August and 25th July, 2012).
[5] Government of Dubai Department of tourism and commerce marketing,http://www.dubaitourism.ae/trade-resources/statistics/hotelstatistics (retrieved on 4thJuly, 2012)
[6] Government of Dubai, Dubai SME, "A small and medium enterprise development perspective of the hospitality industry in Dubai,"(retrieved on 1st September - 18th September, 2012)
[7] J.L. LaSALLE, "Dubai Hospitality Market Overview" http://www.thehotelshow.com/files/jones_lang_lasalle_hospit ality_market_overview__april_2011.pdf (retrieved on 29th July - 7th September, 2012)
[8] T. Teo, and Y. Pain, "A model for web adoption,"Information and Management, vol. 41(4) pp. 457-468, 2003.
[9] N. Hashim, J. Murphy and P. O'connor, "Take me back: validating the wayback machine as a measure of website evolution (published conference proceeding style)," Ljubljana, Slovenia publisher Springer Vienna, vol.13, issue 1, pp.435-446, 2006.
[10] S. Schmidt, A.S. Cantallops, and C.P. Santos,"The characteristics of hotel websites and the implications for website effectiveness,"International journal of hospitality management, vol. 27, pp. 504-516, 2008.
[11] C.Ip, R. Law, and H. Lee, "A review of website evaluation studies in the tourism and hospitality fields' evaluation by features: from 1996 to 2009,"International Journal of Tourism Research, vol. 13(3), pp. 234- 265, 2011.
[12] J. Murphy, E. J. Forrest, C. E. Wotring and R. A. Brymer, "Hotel management and marketing on the internet," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, June, pp. 70-82, 1996.
[13] A.M. Morrison, S. Taylor, A.J. Morrison, and A.D.Morrison,"Marketing small hotels on the World Wide Web,"Information Technology and Tourism, vol.2, no. (2), pp. 97-113, 1999.
[14] C. Zafiropoulos and V. Vrana, "A framework for the evaluation of hotel websites: the case of Greece," Information technology and tourism, vol.8 pp. 239- 254, 2006.
[15] M. Thelwall, "Effective websites for small and medium sized enterprises," Journal of small business and enterprise development", vol.7 (2), pp. 149-159, 2000.
[16] R. Law, and C. Cheung, "Weighing of hotel websitedimensions and attributes,"Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism, pp. 350-359, 2005.
[17] K. Christer, C. Kuttainen, E. Lliachenko, and E. Salehi-sangari, "Preadoption customer conjoint analysis of electronic customer relationship management features," Academy of marketing conference, Dublin- Ireland, Julyvolume, pp. 4-7, 2005.
[18] N.R.AbHamid and G. McGrath,"The diffusion of internet's interactivity on e-tail web sites: acustomer relationship model,"Communications of the international information management association, vol.2, pp. 45-70, 2005.
[19] N.R. AbHamid, A.Y. Cheng, and R.M. Akhir, "Dimensions of E-CRM: An empirical study on hotels' websites,"Journal of Southeast Asian Research, pp. 1-15, 2011.
[20] R. Law, and C. Hsu, "Customer's perceptions on the importance of hotel website dimensions and attributes," International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 493-503, 2005.
[21] J.Murphy, D. Olaru, R. Schegg, and S. Frey, "The bandwagon effect: Swiss hotel's web site and e-mail management," The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 44(1), pp.71-87, 2003.
[22] S.Smithson, "Online visibility as a source of competitive advantage for small and medium sized tourism accommodation enterprises," Service Industries Journal, vol. 31 (10) pp. 1573- 1587, 2011.
[23] S. Lais"How to stop web shopper flight,"Computer World,June17 pp. 44-45, 2002.
[24] Nielsennetrating 2012,https://www.nielsenonlinerewards.com(retrieved on3rd -25th July, 2012)
[25] The Dubai E-Government Portal,www.dubai.ae(retrieved on27thJuly - 15th August, 2012)
[26] AME-Info,www.ameinfo.com(retrieved on20-29thJuly, 2012)
[27] UAE Interact,www.uaeinterct.com(retrieved on 20thAugust, 2012)
[28] Emirates Internet and Multimedia,www.emirates.net.ae(retrieved on 28thJuly, 2012)
[29] Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry,www.adcci.gov.ae/pls/uesites/uae_websites_emirates.search(ret rieved on 15-29August, 2012)
[30] Hotel Online Reservation, www.booking.com(retrieved on 6thAugust - 3rdSeptember. 2012)
[31] U.A.E. yellow pages for travel and hospitality,http://www.yellowpages.ae/ (retrieved on2nd - 5thSeptember, 2012)
[32] Dubai SME, www.sme.ae (retrieved on 2nd August, 2012).
[33] T. Chung, and R. Law, "Developing a performance indicator for hotel websites," International Journal of HospitalityManagement,vol. 22,pp.119-125, 2003.