Examining the Level of Sophistication and Success of Destination Marketing Systems: Impacts of Organizational Factors

Great variations have been observed in the sophistication, interactivity and quality of the destination marketing systems operated by destination marketing organizations (DMOs). This paper argues that DMOs\u27 Website characteristics (i.e., sophistication and interactivity) have a great impact on the success of their online marketing activities. It also argues that DMOs\u27 organizational factors not only determines the level of sophistication of their marketing system, but also defines the level of success with their Web-based marketing efforts. The study provides empirical evidence to support the notion that the sophistication level of destination marketing systems does positively impact the performance of DMOs\u27 Web-based marketing efforts. The results of the study show that three organizational factors have the most impact on Web marketing success: technology competence, organizational innovativeness, and absorptive capacity. It also shows that two organizational factors have significant impact on Website sophistication: organizational innovativeness and financial commitment. Discussions and implications are provided based on the study results