Technology Adoption and Customer loyalty in Hospitality Sector: Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction and Engagement

Abstract

This research endeavours to elucidate the intricate interconnections among customer engagement, satisfaction, loyalty, and technology adoption within the specific milieu of the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia. The primary objective is to refine existing theoretical frameworks and furnish valuable insights for companies seeking to strategically integrate technology for the enhancement of customer experiences. This is achieved via an assessment of the mediating role played by customer engagement. The data collected for the present research were derived from 279 participants residing in diverse cities of Saudi Arabia, including Alhasa, Dammam, and Riyadh. The methodological approach employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to scrutinize the ties among technology adoption, loyalty, satisfaction, and customer engagement. The research utilizes established scales to assess various factors such as mobile technology usage, online reservation systems, self-service kiosks, smart room technologies, digital concierge services, customer satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty. The findings underscore that the correlations between several parameters of technological adoption (e.g., the utilization of mobile devices, online reservation platforms, and self-service kiosks) and customer satisfaction are significantly mediated by customer engagement. This highlights the pivotal role of actively involving customers through technology to augment overall satisfaction levels. The study holds implications on two fronts. Theoretical contributions include the incorporation of the mediating function of customer engagement, advancing our understanding of implementation technologies in the hospitality sector. From a practical standpoint, the results proffer guidance for businesses in Saudi Arabia, and potentially in analogous cultural settings, on strategically leveraging technology to amplify customer engagement and satisfaction, thereby fostering loyalty. This study is unique because it incorporates consumer interaction as an essential facilitator in the complex connections connecting technology adoption and customer happiness in the hotel industry. By concentrating on the Saudi Arabian context, the research introduces cultural nuances into the discourse, thereby contributing to the originality of insights and recommendations for businesses operating in this specific market. Consequently, the study provides a nuanced perspective to the evolving literature on customer behaviour in the hospitality sector by considering the unique interplay between technology, engagement, and satisfaction.