Online Relationships And Dialogue Orientation in The Italian Hospitality Industry.

The development of new technologies has had an impact on the purchasing behaviour of customers who are using the Web more and more frequently to purchase tourist services related to transportation and hospitality (Nielsen, 2010; PhoCusWright, 2010). Suppliers – particularly small companies - are more aware of this trend and have adjusted their strategies, investing a larger part of their communication budget in electronic channels, the Internet and mobile phones (Caroli and Pratesi, 2011). There is a fundamental need to create a more customized relationship with stakeholders, necessary for a profitable relationship with customers and based on more interactive company participation on the Web. To this end, corporate communication researchers have studied the connection between on-line relationships and corporate performance, affirming that there is a positive connection between the ability of companies to activate and encourage relationship and dialogue strategies on the Web and their level of success (Park, Robert, 2010). These studies enrich a field that has already been explored by marketing, a discipline which has long offered many evaluation patterns for websites designed to create and encourage relationships with customers (Kotler et al., 2003; Feigenberg et al., 2002; Bai et al., 2006). The aim of this study is to evaluate the nature of the connection between the on-line relationship orientation of Italian hotels and their dimension and level of quality. The study will begin with an evaluation model of the relationship and dialogue orientation of hospitality companies on the Web. The evaluation of the relationship and dialogue orientation of Italian hotels on the Web verifies the presence (1) or the absence (0) of each dimension of the model by analyzing the company interaction and participation on the Web (websites, social networks, etc.). The comparison between the evaluation results and the sample variables allows comprehension of the factors that generate the relationship and dialogue orientation of hospitality companies in Italy.