Exploring the roles of hotel wellness attributes in customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction: application of Kano model through mixed methods

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyekyung Park ◽  
Minwoo Lee ◽  
Ki-Joon Back

Purpose This paper aims to explore the underlying structure of wellness in upper-upscale and luxury hotels and the roles wellness attributes play in customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a mixed methods approach consisting of content analysis and social media analytics. In Study 1, the authors integrate and review the structure of wellness attributes by conducting a literature review on prior research on wellness and analyzing websites of upper-upscale and luxury hotels. In Study 2, the authors implement text analytics and regression analysis to determine the roles of wellness attributes in customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction by examining the final data gathered from 141,973 reviews of 226 upper-upscale and luxury hotels in NYC. Findings This research introduces the underlying structure of wellness in the upper-upscale and luxury hotels. Findings demonstrate a significant relationship between wellness attributes and customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction. This study shows each wellness attribute’s specific roles in customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction through the Kano model. Research limitations/implications The current study extends the research on wellness by discovering the underlying structure of wellness in the upper-upscale and luxury hotels. Based on the Kano Model, the study reveals specific roles of wellness attributes regarding their dichotomous impact on customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The study makes a novel approach to the topic of wellness through a mixed methods approach consisted of content analysis and social media analytics. Analyzing online customer reviews derived from TripAdvisor.com, the study provides an in-depth insight and understanding of customers’ perceptions of wellness attributes. Practical implications The study guides hotel operators to perform wellness attributes by defining the unique roles of wellness attributes in customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Using the findings of the current study, hotel operators can prioritize wellness attributes regarding their core strategies and provide satisfying wellness attributes to customers. Originality/value Prior research merely focuses on hotels in wellness destinations or wellness-focused hotels with a lack of research on wellness offered in the general lodging industry. This research fills the gap by discovering the underlying wellness structure embedded in the general lodging industry, specifically in the upper-upscale and luxury hotels.

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 647-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yichuan Wang ◽  
Minhao Zhang ◽  
Ying Kei Tse ◽  
Hing Kai Chan

PurposeUnderpinned by the lens of Contingency Theory (CT), the purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate whether the impact of social media analytics (SMA) on customer satisfaction (CS) is contingent on the characteristics of different external stakeholders, including business partners (i.e. partner diversity), competitors (i.e. localised competition) and customers (i.e. customer engagement).Design/methodology/approachUsing both subjective and objective measures from multiple sources, we collected primary data from 141 hotels operating in Greece and their archival data from TripAdvisor and the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH) database to test the hypothesised relationships. Data were analysed through structural equation modelling.FindingsThis study confirms the positive association between SMA and CS, but it remains subject to the varied characteristics of external stakeholders. We find that an increase in CS due to the implementation of SMA is more pronounced for firms that (1) adopt a selective distribution strategy where a limited number of business partners are chosen for collaboration or (2) operate in a highly competitive local environment. The results further indicate that high level of customer engagement amplifies the moderating effect of partner diversity (when it is low) and localised competition (when it is high) on the SMA–CS relationship.Originality/valueThe study provides novel insights for managers on the need to consider external stakeholder characteristics when implementing SMA to enhance firms' CS, and for researchers on the value of studying SMA implementation from the CT perspective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Badenes-Rocha ◽  
Carla Ruiz-Mafé ◽  
Enrique Bigné

Purpose This study aims to analyze the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) customer perceptions, customer–company identification and customer trust on customer engagement (CE), paying special attention to the moderating effects of two types of social media communication, firm-generated content and user-generated content. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a mixed-methods’ approach. First, a single-factor experiment using Twitter posts as stimuli with 227 hotel guests. The structural model was analyzed using SmartPLS 3.2.7. Second, structured in-depth interviews were undertaken with three hotel industry experts to complement the conclusions of the quantitative study. Findings The results show that when a customer trusts a hotel and identifies with its corporate values, CSR tweets generate CE toward the hotel. CSR communications made by customers reinforce the impact of CSR tweets on customer trust more than CSR tweets posted by hotels. Hotel industry experts give insights to explain these results in different types of hotels. Practical implications CSR communications made through Twitter affect customers’ perceptions of a hotel’s CSR activities and customer trust in hotels, especially if they originate from a source external to the company. This result can be of use for hotel managers who have not previously given importance to active CSR communications or the interactivity of social media. Originality/value The authors show the moderating effect of user-generated content in the relationship between CSR customer perceptions and customer trust, thus contributing to the research into the effectiveness of social media. They use a mixed-methods’ approach to increase the validity of the results.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
André Philippi Gonzaga de Albuquerque ◽  
Fagner José Coutinho de Melo ◽  
Denise Dumke de Medeiros

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare the results of customer satisfaction indices (SI) in the literature and to propose equations to show that the reverse attribute needs to be taken into account in these calculations owing to its impact on customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach To propose equations that take into account all types of quality attributes and in opposition to the models proposed by Berger (1993) and Wang (2013), in this work, a questionnaire adapted from the Kano model was developed, using the dimensions of the SERVQUAL model and applied to tourists who use the airline service. Data collection was carried out through social media, obtaining 694 responses. Findings The findings show that the attributes considered as reverse were linked to the delay in the service late check-in, delay in the dispatch of luggage, delay in on-board service and take-off delay, generating dissatisfaction among tourists. Moreover, the same database used to compare the results of the dissatisfaction indices of Berger (1993) and Wang (2013) showed inconsistencies reinforcing the gap that this research intends to close. After the proposal of the SI made by the authors of the present research it was possible to verify the confirmation regarding the definition of reverse attribute developed by the Kano model, reinforcing that the customer satisfaction decreases with the presence of reverse attribute. Originality/value The originality of this research seeks to contribute to the academic literature and organizational practices by investigating a gap in the SI proposed by Berger et al. (1993) for not inserting the reverse attributes and, later, studied by Wang (2013). Furthermore, this research uses the Kano questionnaire as an input to assist in the correct identification and evaluation of all attributes present in the service offered.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhajit Chakraborty ◽  
E. Mitchell Church

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show the value of open-ended narrative patient reviews on social media for elucidating aspects of hospital patient satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Mixed methods analyses using qualitative (manual content analyses using grounded theory and algorithmic analyses using the Natural Language Toolkit) followed by quantitative analyses (negative binomial regression). Findings Health-care team communication, health-care team action orientation and patient hospital room environment are positively related to patient hospital satisfaction. Patients form their hospital satisfaction perceptions based on the three facets of their hospital stay experience. Research limitations/implications In the spirit of continuous quality improvement, periodically analyzing patient social media comments could help health-care teams understand the patient satisfaction inhibitors that they need to avoid to offer patient-centric care. Practical implications By periodically analyzing patient social media comments hospital leaders can quickly identify the gaps in their health service delivery and plug them, which could ultimately give the hospital a competitive advantage. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to apply mixed methods to patient hospital review comments given freely on social media to critically understand what drives patient hospital satisfaction ratings.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Durgesh Agnihotri ◽  
Kushagra Kulshreshtha ◽  
Vikas Tripathi ◽  
Pallavi Chaturvedi

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to conceptualize and analyze a framework that provides greater understanding toward the impact of service recovery antecedents such as role clarity, customer service orientation, employee empowerment and employee relational behavior on customer satisfaction and customer delight in the context of quick-service restaurants (QSRs).Design/methodology/approachA self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 408 participants who had experienced service recovery efforts by leading QSRs on social media. The current paper draws upon the prevailing literature to test a series of research hypotheses through structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings of the study have confirmed that antecedents of service recovery are good to describe customer satisfaction and customer delight in the setting of QSRs. Besides, the study provides an understanding on how monetary compensation moderates the relationship between customer delight and customer satisfaction.Practical implicationsThis study carries an understanding on how frontline employees must operate in a non-conventional and innovative way to resolve customers' issues and show commitment with truthfulness to provide excellent services to make customers feel delightful.Originality/valueThis is a unique study to understand the role of service recovery antecedents to describe customer satisfaction and customer delight in the social media environment. In addition, the results support the possibilities of implementing prompt service recovery efforts using social media.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy R. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Paula L. Weissman

PurposeThe aim of this study was to understand how public relations leaders view and use social media analytics (SMA) and the impact of SMA on the public relations function.Design/methodology/approachThe research involved in-depth interviews with chief communication officers (CCOs) from leading multinational corporate brands.FindingsThe findings revealed that although CCOs perceive social media analytics as strategically important to the advancement of public relations, the use of social media data is slowed by challenges associated with building SMA capacity.Theoretical and practical implications – The research extends public relations theory on public relations as a strategic management function and provides practical insights for building SMA capabilities.Originality/valueThe study is among the first to provide empirical evidence of how companies are using social media analytics to enhance public relations efforts.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 612-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene Haddon ◽  
Catherine Loughlin ◽  
Corinne McNally

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain a nuanced understanding of what employees want from leaders in an organizational crisis context. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a mixed methods approach to explore employee leadership preferences during organizational crisis and non-crisis times using the Multi Factor Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio and Bass, 2004), and qualitative interviews. The authors also investigate sex roles using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1981). Findings – The mixed method approach reveals some potential limitations in how leadership is typically measured. The qualitative findings highlight employees’ expectations of leaders to take action quickly while simultaneously engaging in continuous communication with employees during crisis. None of the components of transformational leadership encapsulate this notion. Originality/value – The mixed methods approach is novel in the crisis leadership literature. Had the authors relied solely on the quantitative measures, the importance of continuous communication during crisis would not have been apparent. As a result of this approach, the findings suggest that widely used and accepted measures of leadership may not adequately capture leadership in a crisis context. This is timely as it aligns with current literature which questions the way this construct is operationalized (Van Knippenberg and Sitkin, 2013).


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Lin ◽  
Yun Liang ◽  
Joanne X. Xue ◽  
Bing Pan ◽  
Ashley Schroeder

Purpose Recent tourism research has adopted social media analytics (SMA) to examine tourism destination image (TDI) and gain timely insights for marketing purposes. Comparing the methodologies of SMA and intercept surveys would provide a more in-depth understanding of both methodologies and a more holistic understanding of TDI than each method on their own. This study aims to investigate the unique merits and biases of SMA and a traditional visitor intercept survey. Design/methodology/approach This study collected and compared data for the same tourism destination from two sources: responses from a visitor intercept survey (n = 1,336) and Flickr social media photos and metadata (n = 11,775). Content analysis, machine learning and text analysis techniques were used to analyze and compare the destination image represented from both methods. Findings The results indicated that the survey data and social media data shared major similarities in the identified key image phrases. Social media data revealed more diverse and more specific aspects of the destination, whereas survey data provided more insights in specific local landmarks. Survey data also included additional subjective judgment and attachment towards the destination. Together, the data suggested that social media data should serve as an additional and complementary source of information to traditional survey data. Originality/value This study fills a research gap by comparing two methodologies in obtaining TDI: SMA and a traditional visitor intercept survey. Furthermore, within SMA, photo and metadata are compared to offer additional awareness of social media data’s underlying complexity. The results showed the limitations of text-based image questions in surveys. The findings provide meaningful insights for tourism marketers by having a more holistic understanding of TDI through multiple data sources.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Butcher ◽  
Fabien Pecot

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how the abstract marketing concept of brand heritage is operationalized through visual elements on social media. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach combines interviews with marketing experts, a focus group with specialized academics, an open coding of Instagram images and the systematic coding of 800 images of eight champagne brands (company-generated content). Findings The study identifies 20 brand heritage codes (e.g. groupings of brand heritage visual cues with homogenous meanings). These codes are combined in three different factors (brand symbols, product legacy and consumption rituals) that discriminate between brands. Research limitations/implications The paper offers a description of what brand heritage looks like in practice. This visual operationalization of brand heritage is based on a single category, a limitation that further research can address. The results also contribute to research on visual brand identity and provide practical insights for the management of brand heritage at the product brand level. Originality/value This paper bridges the gap between the strategic management of brand heritage as a resource and the way it is concretely made available to the consumers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-63
Author(s):  
Silvanos Chirume ◽  
Mathias Taririro Dick

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the consistency with which quality is maintained in the orientation process. Orientation is a key university process intended to prepare new students for life in higher education (HE). For open and distance learning (ODL), orientation can be a key process for lessening some of the challenges associated with the separation of the learner and the lecturer. Indeed, for ODL students, orientation can be fraught with a variety of challenges one of which could be quality problems.Design/methodology/approachConvenient sampling was used to obtain a total of 89 students in the first semester and 34 students in the second semester. The respondents came from all the eight districts in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe. They belonged to various degree programmes found in the eight faculties of the institution. Correlation was used to determine quality variations. Using a mixed methods approach, the study sought the views of the students and the relationships between activities done in the two semesters of 2018. SPSS version 16.0 software was used to compute Spearman’s correlations whereas content analysis was used to analyze the open-ended responses to the questa-view. This mixed methods approach helped the researchers to analyze and compare the quality of the orientation sessions.FindingsResults yielded a positive and high significant correlation between first and second semester variables (r=0.916,p=0.000), a finding indicating that staff members in the Midlands Regional Campus of Zimbabwe Open University have not changed their ways of conducting orientation. On a scale of 1 (least effective) to 5 (most effective), the average ratings for the presentations in the first and second semesters were 4.08 and 4.26, respectively. In the qualitative analysis, adequacy of the venue, timing, coverage of aspects and use of media were all rated positively for the two sessions. However, for the two sessions, some students mentioned negative sentiments to do with the provision of needed materials at time of student registration, the public address system, orientation packages, time management and communication.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper looks at the process of orientation as it was done at one regional campus of an ODL institution in Zimbabwe. It also analyses the quality of the orientation using correlation as a lens that measures consistency and also by critically analyzing content in the respondents’ voices. Implications are that the findings and recommendations can also be applied in other ODL (and even non-ODL) institutions with a view of finally coming up with common policies and procedures with regards to providing quality service and support to the twenty-first century student.Practical implicationsFindings were relevant and could be used for designing applicable orientation programmes in ODL institutions and for improving the quality of student support and services.Originality/valueWhile a number of studies have been carried out on orientation in HE, it would appear that research on orientation in ODL institutions, especially in Zimbabwe, appears minimal, hence this study covers an unexplored niche.


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