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VOLUME VI|Issue 3|2018|CIEO
Journal of
Spatial and
Organizational
Dynamics
Who Are the Tourists Sharing Content on Social Media? Behaviour and Characteristics
Nuno M.B. Antunes, Célia M.Q. Ramos and Carlos M.R. Sousa
Users Acceptance of Location-Based Marketing Apps in Tourism Sector: An Exploratory Analysis
Pedro Palos-Sanchez, Jose Ramon Saura, Ana Reyes-Menendez and Ivonne Vásquez Esquivel
Marketing and Tourism
Guest-Editors: Nelson Matos, Manuela Guerreiro, Júlio Mendes and Bernardete Sequeira
Editor-in-Chief: Patrícia Pinto
Analysing Destination Image from a Consumer Behaviour Perspective
Nuno Baptista and Nelson Matos
Integrated Hotel or Private Accommodation? - Tourists’ Responses to Innovative Hospitality
Tamara Floričić and Nadia Pavia
Job Satisfaction in a Tourist Resort in Portugal
Xana Mader, Joana Vieira dos Santos and Gabriela Gonçalves
Mediating Role of Empowerment between Total Quality Management (TQM) and Service Recovery Performance in the Hotel Industry
Mukhles M. Al-Ababneh, Samer M. Al-Sabi, Firas J. Al-Shakhsheer and Ma’moun A. Habiballah
Events Brand Personality: Insights from Music Festivals in Portugal
Joana Gonçalves, Manuela Guerreiro, Júlio Mendes and Luís Nobre Pereira
USerS accePTance of locaTion-BaSeD marKeTinG
aPPS in ToUriSm SecTor: an eXPloraTorY analYSiS
Pedro Palos-Sanchez1
Jose Ramon Saura2
Ana Reyes-Menendez3
Ivonne Vásquez Esquivel4
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Mobile devices are the most used technology tools to access the Internet since they allow
access from anywhere. This possibility has prompted companies to focus, to a greater extent,
strategies based on geolocation marketing. Geolocation is a tool through which people or
places can be located and have very diverse functionalities and applications. Location-
Based Services (LBS) allow businesses to incorporate these types of tools into their digital
marketing strategies. Social networks based on location services (LBSNS or Location-Based
Social Network System) allow businesses to access information on the location of customers
in real time.
The present study provides more information on LBS and geolocation marketing, also
known as geomarketing, analyzing the utility and benefits that this tool has to digital
marketing and social networks and the importance of its technological adoption. To achieve
this objective, a thorough review of technology adoption literature was carried out and a
series of interviews were made with experts and professionals in its two aspects: digital
marketing and information technologies. The results show the way in the tourism sector,
these tools are managed, the means in which they are active, the LBS systems used, the
utility and benefits they perceive from them, as well as the importance and efforts that they
dedicate to them.
This study reaches relevant conclusions for tourism professionals interested in
incorporating LBS and geomarketing strategies into their businesses, as well as researchers
interested in the behavior in Location-Based Services.
Keywords: Location-Based Services (LBS), Geomarketing, Digital Marketing, Social
Networks, Location, Technology Adoption.
JEL Classification: M15, M31
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Nowadays, the need for users to be connected at all times is being greatly enhanced. While
we surf the Internet we are permanently located, whether we do it from a fixed IP address,
which locates our access router, as if we do it from a mobile device (Saura, Palos-Sanchez &
Cerda, 2018).
1 Department of Business Administration and Marketing, University of Seville, Seville, Spain (ppalos@us.es)
2 Department of Business Economics, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain (joseramon.saura@urjc.es)
3 Department of Business Economics, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain (ana.reyes@urjc.es)
4 School of Business Administration, Technological Institute of Costa Rica, Cartago, Costa Rica (ivasquez@itcr.ac.cr)
Palos-Sanchez, P., Saura, J. R., Reyes-Menendez, A., Esquivel, I. V. (2018). JSOD, VI(3), 258-270
259
This location represents an enormous source of benefits for companies since the location
information of a user or consumer can increase their income. However, location information
also plays a large role in the world of transport and logistics, for example: location-based
information can present a solution to a growing range of problems.
Nowadays, smartphones are, by far, the most used devices to access the network.
Technological advances such as the Internet, smartphone or geolocation have forced companies
to develop specific marketing techniques for each device in order to commercialize them
through different channels (Morales et al., 2014). Thus, the adaptation of online portals and
web applications to mobile devices has increased the number of visits and makes their use
more accessible and usable. This adaptation is known as App or Mobile Application (Palos-
Sánchez, 2017). An App is a computer application designed to be executed on smartphones,
tablets and other mobile devices and allows the user to perform a specific task of any kind,
professional, leisure, educational, access to services, etc., facilitating the efforts or activities
to develop into the device (Santiago et al., 2015; Clarke et al., 2015).
Mobile marketing is defined as any form of marketing that use a mobile device as
previously specific to other tools such as computers, telephones, TV cameras, audios, video
cameras, etc. (Nunes & Simões-Marques, 2015).
The main objective of this study is to clarify what are the influencing factors in the
adoption of location-based applications services on geolocation marketing from the point
of view of the tourism sector. To this end, a thorough review of the adoption literature was
carried out and a series of interviews were made with experts and professionals in its double
aspect: digital marketing and information technologies.
On the one hand, reviewing the literature of adoption of LBS (Location-Based Services)
and geomarketing and, on the other, through a methodology of qualitative research, through
interviews with experts, we can build a model that could be tested in subsequent quantitative
research focused on a representative sample. Its results will be very useful for the scientific
community that is researching the adoption of technologies, but also for technology experts,
marketing directors and developers of mobile applications based on LBS. They can make
decisions based on lower risks, if they know the main influencing factors and take them into
account in their professional activities.
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Web 2.0 technology stands out because the content is generated by the user, there is no longer
any separation between consumers and information producers. With the help of standards
and interoperability, any element of information is omnipresent. From its appearance, users
are no longer isolated, they can create links among themselves to share information and
interests (Fu et al., 2008).
To all this, we must add an important advantage, modularity, which allows to separate the
container (interfaces) and the content (the information itself). Therefore, Web 2.0 allows
users to create, classify, evaluate, update or comment the information and data through the
Internet. This means that users can benefit from its social dimension by obtaining access to
more relevant information due to the massive increase in online content.
The possibility that everyone can access and use the Internet to add content to an existing
website, create their own, without being experts, or have knowledge about information
technologies, is the most notorious feature of Web 2.0 (Saura et al. 2018).
Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, Vol. VI, Issue 3, (2018) 258-270
260
If we transfer this concept to the geographical space, Web 2.0 is a direct and easy-to-
use channel to create networks of “human sensors”, which will generate original data sets
about their voluntary geographic information, with enormous potential for applications
(Goodchild, 2007). Which represents another example, of content generated by the user, in
this case related to the spatial reference. Thus, all the geolocated information, which comes
from different sources of information, is represented in a geo-navigator (Wood et al., 2007).
The success of social networks, as well as the integration of social functions in e-commerce
platforms, helps to integrate the user into web 2.0 technology. This fact has encouraged
companies to be interested in social networks and all that information that contributes to
a better understanding of consumer tastes, but geolocation adds a plus to all these features
and makes the same information even more attractive. Thus, geospatial web services are
contributing to the increased use of geographic information of clients and companies
(Alameh, 2003).
This interest of companies through social networks and geolocation, together with the
widespread use of the Internet through smartphone or tablet, have contributed to companies
developing new marketing techniques specific to each of the devices, in order to market their
products or services through different channels (Morales et al., 2014).
To all this we must add that the widespread use of mobile devices provides enormous
benefits when combined with cloud computing (commonly translated as cloud), since it can
offer virtually unlimited computing power and storage space, as well as access to updating
of the data databases and new configurations, which are only available in the cloud. Cloud
technology is usually confused with the Internet concept (Palos & Correia, 2016). We must
highlight that cloud computing is a set of technologies that provide a series of advantages
for both, the customer and the service provider, and that make possible real “economies
of scale” in the provision of services through the Internet, reducing costs and increasing
scalability. This technology is key to the development of geolocation services in detailed
maps (Palos & Correia, 2016).
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According to Mike Wehrs, President of the AMA (American Marketing Association), mobile
marketing is “a set of practices that allows organizations or individuals to communicate
and engage with their audience (consumers) in an interactive and relevant way through
is defined as a set of practices (activities, processes, commercial entities, advertising and
means of promotion, consumer services, loyalty, social marketing and all other entities
and marketing tools) that assumes participation as fundamental part of digital marketing
strategies and interactions with users (relationships, user attraction, encourage activities,
encourage interaction with the organization and other members of the community). It must
be considered that the smartphone or the Tablet combine functionalities with other tools
such as computers, telephones, TV cameras, audios, video cameras, etc. (Nunes & Simões-
Marques, 2015).
It is important to mention the phenomenon of virality defined as Mobile Viral Marketing
or Viral Mobile Marketing “as marketing that, through communication techniques and
mobile devices, relies on the consumer as a prime element to transmit viral content to other
consumers of its social sphere and, in turn, encourages these contacts to transmit content
to other users” (Wedemann, 2007). This variation of marketing can use transmission media
such as electronic messaging, banners, apps, QR codes, Bluetooth or geolocation apps. Some
authors even want to use the term mobile marketing as a synonym for location marketing,
where their services are based on the location of the business or the user, which is changing
Palos-Sanchez, P., Saura, J. R., Reyes-Menendez, A., Esquivel, I. V. (2018). JSOD, VI(3), 258-270
261
2012).
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In 2009, geolocation begins to be used by companies (Florez & Aguilar, 2012). The
term is related to the knowledge of the geographical location of places, objects or people
automatically and in real time, using tools and technological mechanisms such as Internet,
browsers, mobile telephony satellites, PDAs, smartphones or tablets, among other devices
(Florez & Aguilar, 2012). This location is combined with coupons, offers, or simply by
advertising directed to people who use these devices in specific geographical areas. That is
when geomarketing or localization marketing strategies are used. It is a marketing tool that
analyzes the behavior of consumers according to their geographical situation and uses this
information to promote themselves (Red, 2012). This type of marketing is usually included
in mobile marketing.
Therefore, companies can motivate the user to reveal their location, even when they are
aware of the risks involved, such as privacy (Koohikamali et al., 2015). Companies that are
geo-located get, on the one hand, new customers who, due to their closeness, are encouraged
to know it and, on the other hand, to increase the loyalty of current customers. Therefore,
geolocation is applied to marketing under two antagonistic but interrelated procedures;
companies and customers or consumers: (Red.es, 2012).
Companies: When a company decides to include geolocation strategies, not only must
it register its geographical location, but it must also add information and contents such
as photographs, videos, documents, etc. and shares this information through existing
geolocation tools, such as QR codes, Bluetooth or other technologies.
Users: Geolocation is increasingly used in social networks to promote the socialization
of them, which can become customers if companies share information, promotions or
offers when consumers are close to it.
They stand out as the three most important advantages of the use of geolocation that
companies can determine which products or promotions are better adapted to lifestyles and
consumption patterns from a geographical perspective. Therefore, it is possible to delimit
the consumption zones, through a spatial analysis of the competitors. Finally, geolocation
analyzes and detects possible locations for different points of sale (Cardoso, 2011). Another
use of geomarketing is the increase in sales or the resolution of logistics problems among
suppliers, distribution centers and retail stores (Tsiros & Vikas, 2000).
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The development of geolocation has been strongly driven by the improvement of mobile
devices and the popularization of social networks (Beltrán, 2011). The disproportionate
increase in the number of users of mobile devices, has caused that the exchange of information
based on location has become a trend in social networks (Kim, 2016). The integration of
location-based services (LBS) in social networks and mobile technologies has provided the
appearance of a variety of new services (Varnali & Toker, 2010; Shim et al., 2011). Thus,
a new variant emerges, the social geolocation, which began to be used as a result of the
union of social networks and the GPS function of mobile devices, which allows the user to
communicate and share the place where he/she is (Beltrán, 2011), as well as information
related to the location, such as photographs or activities (Zhao et al., 2012).
This new type of social networks are known as location-based (LBSNS Location served
social network systems), due to the importance of location in their functionalities. In recent
Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, Vol. VI, Issue 3, (2018) 258-270
262
years, the number of LBSNS has increased rapidly throughout the world (Zhao et al.,
2012). Nowadays, it is very advisable for companies to get involved in this trend and make
themselves visible to consumers, so in addition to having their space on the network it is
necessary to interact with customers. To this end, many social networks and applications
with maps emerge, which focus their functionalities on geolocation. Some examples are
Facebook places (2010), through which users can post their current location, recommend
places and events, as well as evaluate them (Florez & Aguilar, 2012) like Google Maps or
Earth tools, that use content such as maps with data, images, company records, traffic,
reviews and other data. Foursquare, users are rewarded if they register places where they
meet other people or discover new ones and finally Swarm, for the search and meeting with
friends (Beltrán, 2011).
These geolocated social networks or LBSNS represent examples of the business potential
that sociability and geolocation can reach. The study of its growth and future sustainability
is a new source of research, in the course of which research shows success factors such as
dependence on the continuous contribution of users (Fang and Neufeld, 2009; Chiu et al.,
2013; Saura et al., 2018; Palos-Sanchez & Saura, 2018).
Several studies highlight the benefits for LBS companies. These benefits are the application
of new promotion techniques, such as discounts, reward opportunities when they enter their
stores or physical stores or when scanning the barcodes of their products using their mobile
cameras (Kang et al., 2015); the location of the nearest activity or service, such as banks,
hotels, restaurants or pharmacies; the reception of alerts, such as the notification of offers
in a shopping center or traffic jams in nearby streets; the search for friends or people with
whom you have an appointment (Singhal & Shukla, 2012); and obtaining quantitative
information about user behavior; the increase in customer loyalty and the improvement of
the relationship with it; the achievement of constant feedback and presence and being able
to carry out more localized viral marketing campaigns (Beltrán, 2011).
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Jacobsen (2004) Middleware for LBS
Singhal and Shukla, (2012) Implementation of LBS in Androids using GPS and web services
Zhou (2012) Examining the use of LBS from the perspectives of the unifying theory of acceptance, use
of technology and privacy risk
Development of mobile marketing in Croatian tourism using LBS
Kang et al. (2015) Use of the mobile in stores: Download and intention to use commercial apps based on
location (LB) through mobile
Koohikamali et al. (2015) Disclosure of the location in LBSNS apps: The role of incentives in sharing behavior
Sun et al. (2015) The disclosure of location information in the LBSNS: Calculation of privacy, structure
of benefits and gender differences
Kim (2016) What drives to do the check-in on Facebook? Motivations, privacy, concerns, and
participation of the mobile phone for the exchange of information LB
Ketelaar et al. (2018) “Opening” location-based mobile ads: How openness and location congruency of location-
based ads weaken negative effects of intrusiveness on brand choice
Lee et al. (2018) What drives stickiness in location-based AR games? An examination of flow
and satisfaction
Source: Own Elaboration
Palos-Sanchez, P., Saura, J. R., Reyes-Menendez, A., Esquivel, I. V. (2018). JSOD, VI(3), 258-270
263
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Through a qualitative research methodology and through interviews with experts, we
have found the main influencing factors in their intention to use. This technique is very
appropriate in investigations of an exploratory nature (Trespalacios et al., 2005). These
factors, subsequently, can help to build a model of causal relationships that can be contrasted
in quantitative research, carried out through a survey of a representative sample of the
population under study.
The interviews were carried out with experts and professionals in its double aspect:
digital marketing and information technologies. In order to select the experts, a database
of executives of advertising agencies, experts in digital marketing consultancy, hotel and
restaurant establishments in the city of Seville and its Province was created. This province
has several cities and municipalities that have an important heritage such as Carmona,
Écija or Alcalá de Guadaira. In the case of the Capital, in its historic center you can locate,
among the intricate of its well-known Barrio de Santa Cruz. The procedure for selecting the
participants was one of convenience.
We contacted 35 experts and professionals and 25 of them agreed to participate in an
interview of a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes. The development of
the interviews was carried out by telephone in some cases, in others it was done personally,
arriving to visit the establishments themselves in the case of professionals. In these cases,
the websites were visited and their positioning in search engines, such as Google Place, and
geolocalized social networks.
As for the script of the interview, mainly, the questions focused on knowing the reasons
that had led them to use the LBS services in the organizations; how they were managed
and why; what tools they knew and what they used; what intention of use they had over
them; what results were expected from each one; what benefits they had observed through
its use and why they believed it was so; how interaction with customers had improved; what
importance they gave to the online image of the organization; What efforts do you dedicate
or do you think you should dedicate to improve it? in what way and why; and finally the
relationship between the way in which customers contract their services or products and the
correct geolocation of them.
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Some of the characteristics of a qualitative research are the registration and systematization
of information. The difficulties of this type of research are those related to the type of
research, as well as the codification of the information. The information must be coded by
the researchers, considering the influence of actions related to feelings and perceptions or
attitudes that the researchers may have on the subject of study.
For the process of developing a qualitative study to be corrected, authors must specify
the topic of analysis. The investigator must transcribe the information specifically with
respect to the facts participating in the study. Likewise, it is also important the adequacy of
the time and how the data specifically fit the investigated act.
In addition, for the data collection process it may also be important that other researchers
can code the information so that the process is more complete by following a manual or a
guide. This fact means that the principal researcher can also review the information collected
and compare it with the objectives or theoretical frameworks needed to correctly adjust and
understand the qualitative information and the coding process. In order to better understand
this codification information process, the following phases proposed by Boyatzys (1998) in
Table 2.
Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, Vol. VI, Issue 3, (2018) 258-270
264
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Phase 1 Familiarization with the data -information-
Phase 2 Generation of initial categories or codes
Phase 3 Search of themes
Phase 4 Review of topics
Phase 5 Definition and denomination of topics
Phase 6 Production of the final report
Source: Boyatzis (1998)
The different phases of the information processing can be superimposed with other stages
of the study, and there is a round-trip movement between different phases as the analysis
progresses. As a result of this flexibility offered by the method and which makes it possible
to take advantage of the wealth of information. In order to achieve a process that has quality
in the development of the investigation, that is clear and presents the arguments correctly, a
series of phases must be followed in which each of the processes proposed below by Boyatzis
(1998) is developed in Table 3:
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Phase 1 Familiarization with the data -information-. It consists of the transcription, reading and rereading
of the material and annotation of general ideas. It is about reading carefully and repeatedly the
information looking for structures and meanings; it is about making the most of its potential.
Phase 2
Generation of initial codes. The coding process consists in organizing information in groups of the
same meaning: “Code is understood to be the segment or most basic element of raw information
that can be considered significant in relation to the subject under study” (Boyatzis, 1998). During
the coding process, systematic work is carried out along all the information following the guidelines
suggested by Boyatzis (1998) for this phase of the thematic analysis:
a) the largest possible number of patterns in the information is codified;
b) sufficient information is incorporated in each code so as not to lose perspective of the context;
c) it is considered that the same data extract can be coded more than once. There are two forms of
coding: inductive, which is done starting from the data, without previous coding; and theoretical,
from the specific theoretical interests of the researcher.
Phase 3
Search of topics. It is considered a topic that “captures” some important information in relation to
the research question, representing a level of structured response or meaning. Also, as a part found
in information that at least describes and organizes information, and at most interprets aspects of
a phenomenon (Boyatzys, 1998).
Phase 4 Review of topics. Re-coding and discovery of new topics is carried out, establishing a delimitation
of the topics so as not to exceed.
Phase 5 Definition and denomination of topics. The themes are definitively identified, the “essentials” of
the topic are established and the hierarchies (themes / sub-themes) are elaborated.
Phase 6
Writing a final report. A narrative based on argumentation that derives from the understanding
and interpretation of the collected information is constructed. The thematic analysis fulfills some
characteristics that are considered common to qualitative analysis -analysis as a cyclical process
and reflective activity- the analytical process must be broad and systematic but not rigid; the data
is fragmented and divided into significant units, but its connection with the whole is maintained;
the data is organized in a system derived from them.
Source: Boyatzis (1998)
The results of the research have been adapted to the research process and are presented
in the following section.
Palos-Sanchez, P., Saura, J. R., Reyes-Menendez, A., Esquivel, I. V. (2018). JSOD, VI(3), 258-270
265
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Digital technology acts as a mediator in the experience of identity, which is constructed by
people and also conditioned by social factors (Castañeda & Camacho, 2012). Therefore, the
digital identity of an organization is essential to ensure long-term viability. The image that a
company projects on the network can be decisive for its success or for its failure, depending
on how good it is (Mayer-Schoenberger, 2007).
To check this question, a series of open questions related to digital identity were raised:
online reputation, average score, opinions and recommendations from clients and number
of followers in social networks. The majority of the interviewees agreed that:
“Currently, it is common for consumers not to hire a service or buy a product
without first contrasting the opinions of other customers or the assessment given
to them by the company.”
“There are hundreds of platforms, apps, websites, forums, etc. in which the clients
give an assessment, they think and tell their experience of use. It is therefore
difficult to be expectant to all of them.”
“Getting a good online image can take a while, which is why the time of existence
of the digital identity conditions the importance that is given to the identity.”
The global importance that professionals and experts give to the digital identity is 4.5
out of 5. There is an aspect that is mainly relevant to them, the opinion of the clients,
which is the axis that conditions the rest of the actions. The recommendations among users
is another factor to be considered, however, in this case the professionals from older and
mature establishments attach less importance to this factor and a greater importance to
customer loyalty. It is all these factors that has less importance is related to participation in
social networks, where the number of followers or “I like” is the factor to pay less attention.
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The interviewees were asked to comment on the most commonly used web platforms and
the reasons why they used or recommended them (in the case of experts), based on the
criteria that most benefit their business. Thus, they made an assessment that they were
commenting on based on whether they had their own website, they were in a directory,
agenda or web platform and if they combined both strategies.
“The existence of an own company website is an important point to build the
digital identity, as a previous step to the geolocation”.
“The own website derives clients to the physical business”.
“The website of the company is an important source of trust for the e-commerce
store”
Then, the interviewees grant, in general, a greater importance to that companies are
present in directories, agendas or platforms. The most important reasons that they exposed
were the following:
“The presence in platforms or apps of commercialization of products or services
contributes more traffic to the website.”
“Appearing in directories or business agendas makes you gain more visibility on
the Internet.”
“The user’s confidence in online sales is proportional to your presence through
search engines. The indexation in these portals brings credibility to the business“.
Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, Vol. VI, Issue 3, (2018) 258-270
266
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In the assessment they made of social networks, Facebook was the social network best
valued by professionals, especially by hotel managers and restaurant owners, where more
than 70% of them chose it as a favorite. The social networks Twitter with more than 20%,
and Instagram, that exceeded 15% were the second and the third most valued. The experts
chose LinkedIn in most cases. It turned out to be striking that for many professionals at
the front of businesses, social networks do not contribute in a client way, but they serve to
generate trust or in some cases, like Facebook, they could receive a client.
Next, they were asked about the LBS platforms. The most valued was Google Places
with more than 40% of use and 75% of knowledge. The rest of the LBS services were barely
known, except for those interviewed in the hotel and restaurant sector who know much
better the potential of these platforms. However, in these cases the results obtained are very
different and give greater value to reservations platforms such as Booking or Tripadvisor,
than to social networks with LBS or simply LBS.
The knowledge of the geolocalized social network Foursquare barely reached 12%. This
result coincides with an investigation that states that the expectation generated has not
corresponded to the interest collected (IAB, 2010), since only 4% of the participants in the
study knew Foursquare. This same study publishes that once explained its function only
35% was interested in it. The most relevant data obtained from this study was that current
and potential users of Foursquare, were especially interested in using the application to take
advantage of promotions from establishments near their current location.
The interviewees were asked about the use of the app or mobile applications they used.
Also, if they had planned to make a version of the website or some service through an app.
The result obtained was very low in this regard. Some professionals affirmed:
“I do not consider the app beneficial and its usefulness is more typical of day-to-
day services”.
The overall results showed that less than 10% of the interviewees considered them to
be very beneficial, and the majority found that they were able to use it to improve the
marketing of their business with little or no benefit. A similar result reaches the valuation of
the use of own blogs, which is considered as little beneficial in most cases. Asked by some of
the most popular apps on social networking geolocation. The lack of knowledge about social
navigation networks, such as Waze or Moovit, that use real-time traffic information, suggest
better routes and notify users of traffic congestion or accidents that help to save time and
fuel (Heiskala et al., 2016).
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The interviewees explained the reasons why they would use geolocation and help systems
based on it. The systems they knew and, in some cases, have used in their business have
been: Proximity marketing, in most cases they knew Bluetooth, but scarcely its application
to geomarketing, QR codes, Marketing campaigns via electronic messaging, NFC Marketing
and Coupons based in geolocation.
It is remarkable the negative result that geolocation techniques have obtained, most
experts and professionals value negatively the benefit that these tools have for their business,
even reaching a percentage of 80% that gives the worst score.
The technique best valued by users are QR codes around 34%, followed by proximity
marketing strategies and marketing campaigns via electronic messaging with 28% and finally
NFC marketing and the coupon with approximately 13%.
Palos-Sanchez, P., Saura, J. R., Reyes-Menendez, A., Esquivel, I. V. (2018). JSOD, VI(3), 258-270
267
X()&,+&2.#*,+
A correct strategy that maintains a good digital identity into an organization has been
essential for the interviewees. The image that projects on the network and its own online
reputation on social networks have proved to be very important. However, all this concern
is not consistent with the importance that has been given to social networks, as the main
source of reputational improvement and the professionals consulted give greater importance
to other factors, which we could qualify as offline. These results lead us to conclude that
the real dimension that the digital revolution supposes for trade or tourism has not yet been
understood. The ignorance of some features and platforms consulted highlight the existing
training deficit in this area.
The fact that social networks are not a direct source of profit for their businesses of the
interviewees implies that they are not working in the correct direction and strategy of their
presence on the Internet, since traffic and followers mark the success of the web strategy
that is choose it has surprised the little importance granted to Google Maps, that is one
of the most popular LBS tools and that is revealed as indispensable for many business
with physical presence. Perhaps, it explains the enormous preponderance that Facebook has
against other social networks like Google +.
The apps have not been valued in the interviews as excessively beneficial for the business,
mainly because of the costs of designing and managing these tools and also because of the
limited knowledge of their implementation. It is essential that in a country like Spain,
true tourist power, institutional advisory and training campaigns could be launched so that
professionals and businesses can modernize in this sense.
Today, there are professional community manager services that can externally help small
and medium businesses to be in social networks in order to develop their own blogs. This
fact seems to be not much valued by the interviewees, although the experts have emphasized
not enough effort that these specialists still have.
From the point of view of geolocation systems and services, the benefit granted is
medium-high, but the importance does not correspond with the opinions expressed. The
majority acknowledged that it undoubtedly affects the increase in the number of clients,
decrease in advertising expenses, more knowledge of the customer on the web, improvement
in the promotion of the business or in gaining consumer confidence or even in customer
loyalty. However, it has been the businesses with the least experience and seniority that have
given greater importance to this system, as well as those with a physical store, but which
were sold through the Internet.
Among the geolocation techniques and tools best valued by the hotels in the sample
these are QR codes. QR codes are proximity marketing and digital marketing campaigns
via electronic messaging. These techniques can be classified as the most traditional and
known, perhaps this is the reason for their best assessment. However, for some experts
interviewed, the incorporation of geolocation in other apps or websites turns out to be
the best complement of a business with physical presence that tries to convert traffic in
the Internet in physical client. Undoubtedly, the use of geolocalization-based systems is
not being sufficiently adopted by many businesses, but their future viability makes great
expectations in this regard. Everything will depend on the evolution of e-commerce itself,
online reservations and consumer confidence in the Internet, from the point of view of
privacy or security.
Therefore, this study concludes with the contribution of influencing factors in the adoption
of services based on geolocation, establishing the degree of influence that may have the need
for an adequate digital identity, social networks, the use of apps, geomarketing activities, the
importance of the set of geolocation techniques selected and finally, the perceived benefits
Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, Vol. VI, Issue 3, (2018) 258-270
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among which are the application of new promotion techniques; the location of the nearest
activity or service; the reception of alerts by proximity; the search for friends or people; the
reception of the location in case of theft or loss; obtaining quantitative information about
user behavior; the increase in customer loyalty; the achievement of constant feedback and
presence and finally the realization of more localized viral and digital marketing campaigns.
The limitations of this research are those related to the number of researches consulted,
the methodological process carried out and the development of the location technology in
Marketing industry. Researchers can use this study as a literature review of future studies
based on the geolocation of marketing and its application to different industries and
professional sectors.
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