THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE PROCESSES AND HOTELS' INFORMATION QUALITY: EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIA

Abstract

The information quality (IQ) and the tools used to generate it such as competitive intelligence (CI) are the most critical competitive competencies for businesses today, particularly in the tourism and hotel sectors. However, there is still ambiguity about the impact of each phase of the competitive-intelligence process (CIP) on IQ, particularly in the hotel industry in a developing country such as Malaysia. Thus, the purpose of this research is to detect the level of IQ resulting from CIP in Malaysian hotels, as well as to investigate the impact of each phase of CIP (planning and focus, gathering, analysis, and communication) on IQ (contextual and representational) of Malaysian hotels. A quantitative research design was adopted in this study. To collect the data required to analyse the study's hypothesised model, 505 questionnaires were distributed to marketing managers at Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) member hotels, yielding a total of 184 analysable questionnaires with a response rate of 34.44 percent. The research data were analysed using structural equation modelling with partial least squares (SEM-PLS). Despite that half of the responding hotels practiced CI informally, the study found that the level of IQ resulting from CIP was high. Furthermore, the results indicate that the planning and focus, gathering, and analysis phases of CIP had a positive and significant impact on hotels' IQ, while the communication phase had a slight negative but insignificant impact on hotels' IQ. Additionally, the results show that the analysis phase is the most relevant, followed by the gathering phase, and finally the planning and focus phases phase. These findings enrich those in positions of power like owners, managers, and practitioners, as well as academicians, with greater knowledge of the relationship and influence of CIP on firms' IQ, particularly for hospitality and tourism firms.