engleski

Role of Internet in Building Image of Croatia

Today Internet is important media and offers various possibilities and tools for improving or supporting communications with different actors in national, international and global environment. The aim of the paper is to analyze the role that Internet has in building Croatian country's image. The research seeks to explore how Croatian governmental bodies and institutions, public institutions and organizations might help managing the process of internationalization of Croatian economy, if the source of competitive advantage they help to create is based upon favorable country image building through their Web sites. Therefore, the authors evaluated and compared the content of the Web sites of Croatian governmental bodies and institutions, public institutions and organizations, in order to assess whether and to which extent Internet influence on building image of Croatia. To achieve these goals a methodology was developed according to criteria which Zeithaml V. A. et. al. (2002 ; pp. 363-364) identified as the most important and mostly used by customers in evaluating service quality delivery through the Web sites. Data for the study were collected using a sample of 59 Web sites (26 governmental bodies, 25 governmental institutions, 7 public academic institution and public TV). Very often, the Web site objectives are linked to image building. Results of the research carried out by McNaughton (2001 ; pp. 84) revealed that image building Web sites are characterized by a high frequency of content items. Organizations with image building Web sites use their sites to transfer information about themselves, their products, and their industry. Financial information, press releases, and success stories are frequent content examples. Links to industry related sites and sources of news are also common. Many of these sites also have a large number of graphics items, but layout is usually simple with few pages, and little depth. Zeithaml V.A. et al. (2002 ; pp. 363) found that academic research has identified a number of criteria that customers use in evaluating Web sites in general and service quality delivery through Web sites in particular. Consumers tend to have stereotypes about countries that have been formed by experience, hearsay and myth. Country image stereotypes can either benefit or hurt products and services from certain country. Negative country image stereotyping can be overcome with good marketing. Country image becomes better when customers become more familiar with the country. Therefore, critical to the success of country image is the development of a core message about a country that can be used by different industrial sectors and through different media. Another requirement is that government, industry and companies actively participate in the development and subsequent use of the country image. Strategies related to all marketing mix elements can and should be used to counter negative country stereotypes. Communication strategy is widely used to alter attitudes toward the country, i.e. to improve the country image. Efforts carried out by government, industry associations, companies and organizations, in order to improve country image, would benefit all stakeholders from the same country. Our research reveals that Croatian governmental bodies and institutions, public institutions and organizations have established their Web sites in order to communicate with different target groups: domestic and foreign customers, investors, tourists, governments, R&D institutions etc. Their Web sites as communication and image building media have a number of advantages in comparison with traditional forms of communication (telephone, fax and/or snail mail). They are cost effective, enable long distance communication in different time zones, text and graphics can be easily transferred. The research results show that Web sites of Croatian governmental bodies and institutions, public institutions and organizations influence on building Croatian national identity and country image to the certain extent. Unfortunately this is not done in planned and organized way. The authors did not find evidence of joint efforts directed to e.g. prominent and consistent use of country symbols. There is no doubt that communication aims, objectives and messages should vary across governmental bodies and institutions, public institutions and organization, depending on their nature and purpose, but uniformly high standards of content, design, usability and other investigated important dimensions of Web sites quality service delivery do not exist. It is obvious that governmental bodies and institutions, public institutions and organization have invested a lot in developing their Web sites, but up to now successful country image building through these Web sites was ignored. Such exclusion, if it continuous, may cause serious damage in the future. Transfer of a desired, standardized image is very difficult. Experience-related dimensions of any image can hardly be transferred. Therefore, more functional or more "sort of tangible" components of image, with greater depending on physical clues, can be more easily managed to establish a coherent image. Internet i.e. Web sites of governments, industry, trade and professional organizations could be considered such a tool in building a country image. It is important for Croatian governmental bodies and institutions, public institutions and organizations to understand that their Web sites, i.e. quality service delivery through them, might represent media that will successfully and immediately transfer desirable country image. This might help the overall process of internationalization of Croatian economy.

Internet marketing; Country image; governmental bodies and institutions' Web sites

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