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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Strengthening Relational Ties and Building Loyalty Through Relational Innovation and Technology: Evidence from Spanish Hotel Guests

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Smart tourism relies on the ability to collect enormous amounts of data and intelligently store, process, combine, analyse and use big data to inform business innovation, operations and services. Companies are becoming aware of the potential of analytics and big data and the need to invest in technology to remain competitive. Most of the research on big data, technology and innovation in tourism focuses on the firm’s perspective, paying scanty attention to customers’ perceptions. The present chapter aims to analyse the impact of hotel relational innovation and technology on brand equity and hotel-guest relational ties and customer loyalty. This objective has been pursued in quantitative research through personal interviews with Spanish guests of 3, 4 and 5-star hotels in the Valencia region, one of the top holiday destinations in Spain. The sample of 401 guests at 42 hotels provides evidence to suggest a significant positive impact of relational innovation on guest perceptions of hotel technology and strength of relational ties. Moreover, information and communication technologies exert a positive impact on overall brand equity which, in turn, has a positive impact on relational ties and guest loyalty. Relational innovation makes a particularly strong contribution to the strength of relational ties and ultimately, loyalty. Empirical research is urgently needed in this area to gain insight into these relations and the role of big data in value creation.