THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL MARKETING ORIENTATION ON HOTEL MARKETING PERFORMANCE

This research aims to evaluate the impact of digital marketing orientation (DMO) on hotel marketing performance enhancement. Based on data collected from a sample of 164 hotels in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro, using the structural equation modeling (SEM), digital marketing has orientation on hotel marketing performance enhancement and digital marketing adoption has been tested. Digital marketing orientation's positive and significant impact on hotel marketing performance enhancement and digital marketing adoption has been confirmed. In contrast, a negative direct effect of digital marketing adoption on marketing performance enhancement was found. The main implication of this study is that before investing money in digital marketing tools and their application, the hotel management should develop a business culture emphasizing the strategic importance of digital marketing, carefully plan digital marketing activities and develop an adequate system of digital marketing analytics that will allow continuous optimization of digital marketing activities and increase marketing effectiveness and efficiency. This study extends the literature on digital marketing orientation. It provides answers to the question related to its impact on marketing performance enhancement and digital marketing adoption in the hotel industry. The first study, to the author's knowledge, tested the impact of digital marketing orientation on hotel marketing performance while simultaneously developing new and testing existing measurement instruments in a more complex model.