Asst. Prof. Dr. From Digital Content Marketing Mix to Customer Insight: The Mediating Role of Customer Engagement and the AI Personalization Perception — Evidence from Five-Star Luxury Hotels

Abstract

This study aims to explore the impact of the digital content marketing mix (DCM) on customer insight (CI) within five-star luxury hotels in Baghdad, Iraq, incorporating customer engagement (CE) as a mediating variable and AI personalization perception (AIP) as a moderating variable. A descriptive-analytical approach was adopted, with 380 questionnaires distributed to a random sample of guests across six five-star hotels in Baghdad, of which 364 were valid for analysis. Data were analyses using SmartPLS4. Hypothesis testing confirmed a significant positive impact of DCM on CI. AIP exerted significant effects on both CE (β = 0.554, f² = 0.388) and CI (β = 0.276), with coefficients of determination of R² = 0.509 and R² = 0.315 respectively. CE did not demonstrate a statistically significant mediating role between DCM and CI (p = 0.089), while AI personalization perception demonstrated a significant negative moderating effect on the relationship between the digital content marketing mix and customer engagement (β = -0.086, p < 0.001), its moderating effect on the relationship between the digital content marketing mix and customer insight was not statistically significant (p = 0.549). The study provides valuable managerial insights for luxury hospitality marketers on optimizing digital content strategies alongside AI personalization features to capture deep customer insights.