The Perception of Omani E-consumers on the Importance and Performance of Dubai SMHs' Website Dimensions and Attributes
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.
[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.
[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.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:55671", author = "Mohammed G. Montasser and Rehab Y. Zoweil", title = "The Perception of Omani E-consumers on the Importance and Performance of Dubai SMHs' Website Dimensions and Attributes", 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.", volume = "7", number = "6", pages = "1572-10", }
