Customer Loyalty of hospitality industry

A Comparative Analysis of Research Articles Pertaining to Customer Loyalty in the Hospitality Industry

This critically evaluates two research articles with respect to their objectives and how these were delivered through the research methods used by the authors including data sourcing and modes of analysis used , v , s , c , and l . The authors conclude that for complex and infrequently purchased services , corporate image rather than customer satisfaction is the main predictor of customer loyalty

Rayka Presbury , Anneke Fitzgerald , and Ross Chapman made a qualitative research , entitled : Impediments to Sustainable Service Quality

in Four and Five Star Hotels . It aimed to identify the emergent factors that impede service quality delivery . It focused on the importance of customer retention and the relationship between customer retention and service quality . The study used data collected from ten senior managers of four and five star international hotels in Sydney Central Business District and surrounding areas . The data collection resulted to a number of themes identified as impediments to sustainable service quality

The critical analysis of the two research articles shall focus on the following salient differences : research objectives , methodology and modes of analysis used

Salient Differences

Objectives

Tor Wallin Andreassen and Bodil Lindestad aimed to examine the impact of corporate image on quality , customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in complex services with varying degrees of service expertise and proposed a conceptual model treating satisfaction and image as latent variables with multiple attributes . To effectively meet these objectives , they developed a conceptual model . The conceptual model suggested that loyalty to the same service company or same product service is based on a confirmation-based satisfaction of previous purchases and a general attitude toward the company

Based on the discussions and arguments presented in the conceptual framework , the authors made the following propositions

P1 : Perceived quality is believed to have a positive impact on value

P1 .1 : Perceived quality and value are believed to have positive impacts on customer satisfaction

P2 : Customer satisfaction is believed to have a positive impact on customer loyalty

P3 : Corporate image is believed to have a positive impact on customers perception of quality , value , customers ' satisfaction judgment , and customer loyalty

P4 : Repurchase intention and willingness to provide positive word-of0mouth are indications of customer loyalty

The authors then developed a structural model , where several hypotheses were derived from . These hypotheses are as follows

H1 : Perceived quality will have a positive impact on value for the industry consolidated

H2 : Value and perceived quality have positive impacts on customer satisfaction than perceived quality for the industry consolidated

H3 : For customers with a high degree of service expertise perceived quality will have a stronger impact on customer satisfaction

H4 : For customers with a low degree of expertise value will have a stronger effect on customer satisfaction than perceived quality

H5 : Corporate image through a filtering effect impacts customers perception of value , quality and customer satisfaction for the industry consolidated

H6 : For customers with a high degree of service expertise the impact of corporate image on value...