CARACTERÍSTICAS DE LOS ESTUDIOS

Research design is the structure and plan of research that allows the researcher to find answers to the research question (Bryman and Bell 2011). The choice of a research design is directed by the purpose of the research, the kind of enquiry, the degree of researcher involvement, the time period over which the data is to be collected, the stage of knowledge in the field and the kind of analysis to be carried out, that is, whether qualitative or quantitative (Sekaran 2013).

However, according to Sarantakos (2013) and Silver (2013), any research involves two fundamental phases; the first is the planning phase, in which researchers constructs the plan and the design of their research, and the second is the execution phase, in which the researchers collects and analyses their data. Bryman (2012, p.97) and Sarantakos (2013, p.106) summarised the key purpose of the research design in the following:

1- Makes the steps of the research design clear, allowing the researchers to predict and avoid eventual errors, distortions and bias.

2- Provide a systematic approach to the research process; consequently, assuring that all parts of the research will be addressed and that they will be accomplished in the right sequence.

3- Offer the researchers the essential framework for collecting and analysing their data and reflect the succession of the research process.

Babbie (2013) argued that if the researchers clearly identify what they want to find out and clarify the right research design, they will be able to reach their objectives. Consistent with Babbie’s (2013) opinion, this research employed survey research to clarify the relationship between the adoption of ICT and marketing performance for upscale hotels in Jordan. In fact, survey researches are significant for evaluating and analysing the features affecting the successful adoption of ICT for improved marketing performance.

Researchers categorise research design into six groups: experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal, case study, comparative and level of analysis (Bryman and Bell 2011). Cross-

sectional surveys are used to gather information on a population at a single point in time. This research design can be advantageous when the researcher needs to collect data on phenomena that cannot be directly observed. Moreover, a cross-sectional survey questionnaire can be used to determine the relationship between two factors.

The research design constructed here is based on the hypotheses formulated. These hypotheses were formulated inductively from the literature. To test hypotheses, both descriptive and analytical approaches were implemented to analyse data. The descriptive part is needed to describe and identify the research factors and variables, which constitute the ICT application profile for Jordanian hotels, which are the independent variables in the research. It is also used to empirically identify the marketing performance indicators in the hotels, which are the dependent variables in the research. In the analytical part, the research model was tested by examining the relationship between ICT usage by Jordanian hotels and the marketing performance for these hotels in order to explore how far hospitality management perceive these elements.

Figure 5.3 represents the research process, which has been conducted through six basic stages. In order to achieve the main aim and objectives of this study, the research process employed different procedures in order to achieve the research objectives. These procedures consisted of:

1. A literature review to create a set of ICT usage classification schemes, and a set of measures for marketing performance.

Prior to commencing the primary research the study focused on defining and framing the research question. This began by conducting a comprehensive review of the literature on the area of interest. A bottom-up approach (from latest research paper to older ones) has been adopted. Chapter three introduces the literature review for this research.

2. An examination of the characteristics of hotels that use ICT, as well as investigating their distribution, classification, addresses, and other data.

The unit of analysis is hotel because the research is to recognise the most frequently use ICT application in the hospitality industry. This research focused on upscale hotel in Jordan. For the research population, this research use hotels managers or owners. Hotel administrators are believed to be the most knowledgeable personnel regarding the hotel operations. From the recent record, there are 112 upscale hotels in Jordan with 28 hotels are 5-stars rating (JHA 2012).

3. Developing a proposed search tool: a questionnaire as a means of primary data collection.

This research is intended to be a quantitative research using a self-administered survey approach. The survey items for the ICT availability, integration, and intensity constructs was designed similar to the study of Sirirak et al. (2011). The details in Table 4.6 were used to inform the survey items for ICT construct which adopted from Reino (2009). Similarly, the details in Table 4.4 (p.102) were used to inform the survey items for the marketing performance construct, which is similar to the study of Ambler and Kokkinaki (2002). Based on the information in both Tables 4.4 and 4.6, it is evident that the survey items were adapted from various studies in ICT adoption and its impact on hotel performance domains (e.g. Scholochow et al. 2010; Ruiz-Molina et al. 2011; Aziz et al. 2012; Law et al. 2013; Nwakanma et al. 2014; Mihalič et al. 2015; Scaglione and Schegg 2015).

After developing the research tool the test of the credibility of this tool was conducted through distributing the proposed questionnaire to some university professors in the field of marketing, and to some hotels in order, to study the accuracy of questionnaire statements,

Research problem

Conceptual analysis of ICT systems

Theoretical analysis of marketing performance model

Data collection and analysis

Discussion

Conclusion and recommendations

and questionnaire suitability for research objectives. The researcher then reconsidered the questionnaire statements in the light of the proposed amendments.

4. Data collection through distributing the questionnaire on-line.

A quantitative approach was used to gather the data by distribution of questionnaire to the targeted population. It involves gathering numerical data using structured questionnaires to collect primary from the hotels. This research is cross-sectional in nature because the data was gathered just once over a period of months.

5. Data analysis through appropriate statistics tests.

The nature of this research adopts the descriptive and analytical design research, and conducted in quantitative manner because it is targeted to examine and measure the level of usage of ICT application and marketing performance in hotels and the relationships between the two constructs.

6. Evaluating the results and making recommendations.

This was achieved through undertaking a quantitative investigation of 112 Jordanian hotels. The respondents were asked to provide details about the availability, interconnectivity and usage intensity of several ICT solutions. The respondents were, also, asked to rate their satisfaction about 12 selected marketing metrics. Chapter six (p.152) reports the analysis of data obtained from this survey. Depending on the literature, Chapter seven (Sections 7.3, p.211) and Section (7.4, p.217), discuss these result in more details.