The purpose of this paper is to assess hotel websites as a marketing communication tool using Kent and Taylor’s (1998) dialogic principles. This study was executed qualitatively using content analysis of 42 hotel websites in Ghana. The results of the study show that hotels in Ghana are adequately utilising websites as a marketing communication tool. The findings further show a preponderant use of the principle of conservation of visitors and the dialogic loop principle by the sampled hotel websites. However, the majority of the sampled websites performed rather poorly on the return visit principle. The research contributes to the scarce literature on hospitality management in an emerging economy context.
Agyei-MensahSArdayfio-SchandorfE (2007) The global and the local: urban change in Cape Coast from pre-colonial times to the present. Urban Design International12: 101–114. doi:10.1057/palgrave.udi.9000191
2.
AndersonPH (2005) Relationship marketing and brand involvement of professionals through Web enhanced brand communities: the case of coloplast. Industrial Marketing Management34: 39–51.
3.
BarrettFJ (1998) Creativity and improvisation in jazz and organizations: implications for organizational learning. Organization Science9: 605–622.
4.
BrancoMRodriguesL (2006) Communication of corporate social responsibility by Portuguese banks: a legitimacy theory perspectives. Corporate Communications, An International Journal11(3): 232–248.
5.
BuberM (1970) I and Thou (Trans., WalterKaufmann). NewYork: Scribners.
6.
CioneaAI (2011) Dialogue and interpersonal communication: how informal logic can enhance our understanding of the dynamics of close relationships. COGENCY3 (1): 93–105.
7.
CooperriderDLWhitneyD (2002) A positive revolution in change: appreciative inquiry. Paper posted on-line, available at:http://www.taosinstitute.net/coopwhitney1.docon(accessed 5 december 2002)
8.
DozierDMEhlingWP (1992) Evaluation of public relations programs: what the literature tells us about their effects. In: GrunigJE (ed) Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management. Hillsdale: LawrenceErlbaum, pp. 159–184.
9.
EsrockSLLeichtyGB (1999) Corporate World Wide Web pages: serving the news media and other publics. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly76 (3): 456–467.
10.
EsrockSLLeichtyGB (2000) Organization of corporate web pages: publics and functions. Public Relations Review26: 327–344.
11.
GrunigJE (2001) Two-way symmetrical public relations: past, present, and future. In: HeathRL (ed) Handbook of Public Relations. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 11–30.
12.
HerringSCScheidtLABonusS. (2005) Weblogs as a bridging genre. Information, Technology & People18 (2): 142–171.
13.
HinsonRMadichieNIbrahimM (2012) A dialogic communications interrogation of the online brand dispositions of banks operating in Ghana. International Journal of Bank Marketing30 (7): 508–526.
14.
HinsonRvan ZylHAgblezeS (2013) An interrogation of the dialogic potential of insurance firm websites in Ghana. Information Development30: 59–69.
HsiehHFShannonSE (2005) Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research15 (9): 1277–1288.
17.
IbrahimMRahmanADDe HeerF (2013) Interrogation of dialogic potential of university websites in Ghana. Information Development. Epub ahead of print 16 December 2013. doi:10.1177/0266666913510167.
18.
KeganRLaheyLL (2001) How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
19.
KeytonJ (2011) Communication and Organizational Culture: A Key to Understanding Work Experience. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
20.
KentMLTaylorM (1998) Building dialogic relationships through the World Wide Web. Public Relations Review24 (3): 321–334.
21.
KentMLTaylorM (2002) Toward a dialogic theory of public relations. Public Relations Review28 (1): 21–37.
22.
KentMLTaylorMWhiteWJ (2003) The relationship between web site design and organizational responsiveness to stakeholders. Public Relations Review29: 63–77.
23.
LeeSMTaeHHong-HeeL (2006) Corporate blogging strategies of the Fortune 500 companies. Management Decision44 (3): 316–334.
24.
LittlejohnSW (1992) Theories of Human Communication. Belmont: Wadsworth.
25.
Marcomm WiseS (2006) Performance consequences of brand equity management evidence from organizations in the value chain. Journal of Product and Brand Management12 (4): 220–236.
26.
McQuailDWindahlS (1986) Communication Models for the Study of Mass Communication. London: Longman.
27.
PearceWBPearceKA (2004) Taking a communication perspective on dialogue. In: AndersonRBaxterLACissnaKN (eds) (2003) Dialogue: Theorising Difference in Communication Studies. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 39–56.
28.
ReberBHKimJK (2006) How activist groups use web sites in media relations: evaluating online press rooms. Journal of Public Relations Research18 (4): 313–333.
29.
TaylorMKentML (2004) Congressional web sites and their potential for public dialogues. Atlantic Journal of Communication12 (2): 59–76.
30.
ThayerL (1968) Communication and Communication Systems in Organisations, Management and Interpersonal Relations. Homewood: Irwin.
31.
TraynorJPoitevintMBruniB. (2008) On the ballot and in the loop: the dialogic capacity of campaign blogs in the 2008 election. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass CommunicationChicago, IL (2008, August).
32.
WatersRDTindallNTJ (2010) Marketing churches on the Internet: an analysis of the dialogic potential of Christian websites. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing15: 369–381.
33.
WaltonDKrabbeE (1995) Commitment in Dialogue: Basic Concepts of Interpersonal Reasoning. Albany: State University of New York Press.
34.
WhiteCRamanN (2000) The World Wide Web as a public relations medium: the use of research, planning and evaluation in web site development. Public Relations Review5 (4): 405–419.
