Integrated Marketing Communication and Brand Image in Saudi Private Sector Hospitals: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

This research aims to explore how integrated marketing communication (IMC) impacts on brand image in private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 290 patients in four different hospitals. This research showed that IMC dimensions (advertising, personal selling, public relations, and WOM) had a positive effect on brand image of the private hospitals, and only one dimension, represented by sales promotion, had no effect on brand image. The paper contributes to previous research by adding to existing knowledge regarding IMC dimensions and brand image. The paper makes key recommendations towards adoption of IMC dimensions to develop and enhance the brand image of private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. re and communication values (Warner-Søderholm, 2012) are applied in this present study in order to explore to what degree cultural values impact how we form, deliver and receive an organization’s business communication messages within the Nordic cluster. Thus, this supports the proposition that better cross-cultural business communication practices contribute to an organization’s bottom line in the management game of communication today. Moreover, we contribute to the field with an analysis of the differences between managers’ cultural practices and wished for values.