The relationship between customers perceived value, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the hotel industry!
Understanding Business and Management Research Methods :- In the business setting, the relationship between service or product offering, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is essential in the overall growth and sustainability of a business organization. It is necessary for a business to strive with the need to enhance quality in their endeavors. Numerous researchers have established the greater relationship between business offering and customer satisfaction, an attribute that contribute to customer loyalty in the hotel sector. On the other hand, knowledge production in the field of business is accelerating at a higher speed. As a result, literature review as a research method in the particular area of business research is necessary in offering relevant information about the quality and worthiness of various types of sources. The research illustrates the various aspect of business research through a literature review methodologies. The particular study in the current business research assists in understanding business and management research methods in the field of customer service in Hotel Industry.
The main behaviors outcomes that businesses strive to achieve are to establish customer loyalty through satisfaction of their needs. In this case, companies that strive to offer first class quality of products and services to their customers remain on top position of the market. An organization need to ensure customer satisfaction by offering a full service, equivalent to the monetary value on offer. While it can be difficult to determine the satisfaction rate of customers in terms of the availability of product and services Khadka and Maharjan (2017) incorporated a quantitative research study in form of a questionnaire to determine the satisfaction rate and the need for improvement of services in future. The findings from the study noted that 37% of the customers had taken the service of the particular organization from 1 to 2 years. On the other hand, 17% of the customers shave been subscribing for the service for 5 years. On this case, the study indicated that the company was striving to gain customer loyalty and it's making strides for the same.
According to Davies and Hughes (2014) business management research methods, could either be qualitative and quantitative the research approaches. In this case, the choice of research strategy is dependent on ten data collection techniques and data analysis procedures for either numeric or non-numeric data. In the qualitative study, survey questionnaires are included to determine the feedbacks of the customers on the aspect satisfaction rate. As illustrated by (), qualitative research is another important activity for determining the broader aspect of opinions in studies in relation to business and management research. In the aspect of qualitative research design, the researcher focuses on the collection and interpretation of non-numerical data. On the other hand, focus groups have gained an immense credence as a way of extracting the complexity of customer research and decision making without being a threat to the environment. Focus group is used as an initial technique and as a precursor to a large project (Bryman 2016). Thus, focus groups are useful in exploratory research in a non-threatening environment.
Customer Perceived Value
The customer perceived value entails customer's evaluation of merits for a product and services of a business and their ability to meet the needs and expectations as compared to their competitors. In this case, if the customer's perceived value is positive, there is a possibility of repeat purchasing from the same customers. Abu-Alhaija, Hussein & Allan (2019) carried out an investigation to determine the main components of ten perceived value. The conceptual study incorporated the hypothesis that satisfied customers, may return to the firm and spread word of mouths. Thus, the studies noted that word of mouth was an important aspect to determine the satisfaction rate for customers in the long run. While qualitative study strategy was incorporated in the study, the research was not predefined and thus findings were not subjected to any internal and external validity.
On the other hand, Letitia (2015) focused on a self-administered online questionnaire to allow business owners to offer their insight on the perception of customer satisfaction. In the particular research, the author focused on South Africa's SME owners. Female respondents dominated the .study with the majority being business owners. The perceived customer orientation was determined through a 4 point scale likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = agree;4 = strongly agree)( Letitia 2015,p.185).. The quantitative analysis was necessary to determine the impact of the impacted value to the key customers. According to the findings, the business owners and managers noted that the procedures (M=3.42, SD=.608) and the different ways of doing business (M=3.43, SD=.592) positively impact the customer's perception on the business. The quantitative analysis incorporated (61.62%, n=61) of the response in terms of verbal feedbacks and 20% through the questionnaire (20.20%, n=20).In terms of frequency of testing customer satisfaction, 19.6% of the respondents considered daily testing, 28.9% considered monthly testing, and 9.3% considered annual testing. Therefore, the success of the organization depends on customer satisfaction.
On the aspect of customer perception in value in relation to hotel industry, Ferdous and Mim (2021) conducted studies to establish factors affecting customer satisfaction and loyalty to the particular company. While the researchers focused on the qualitative research design, semi structured interviews that incorporated response from Sweden and UK. The interview was conducted through voice call, emails, and whatsapp calls. According to the findings, customer satisfaction is important because it is a way of capitalizing on the customer feedbacks to establish the management and improvement of business in future. The respondents imparted blend insight between the administration quality and the satisfaction of the customers. Evidently, one respondent indicated that "service quality is a very crucial point for company's success as it has significant influence on customer's satisfaction and loyalty."(p.36). The major satisfaction aspect of the customers is the food being served I the restaurants. Another particular finding on the aspect of food is that:
"In the food service industry, food quality is the most important to achieve loyal customer and repeat purchases customer satisfaction should be the important, so we maintain a good quality to satisfy our customers."( Ferdous 2021,p.36)
Product Quality and Customer satisfaction
The study by Ferdous and Mim (2021) inferred that customers search for quality food and freshness is another significant component that influences the purchasing criteria for customers. The study matches Letitia (2015) insight only that Ferdous and Mim (2021) study introduced the aspect of pricing. While price can be important issues in every business, customer needs to save money when purchasing excellent product and services. Some respondents indicated that they price their products and services according to the quality. At the same time, the restaurant owners can make profits while customers get the intended quality. The empirical findings listed various attribute that lead to customer satisfaction such as service quality, food quality, price, behavior intention, restaurant location and atmosphere. It is critical to note various dimension that measure service quality. Customers expect a certain level of service before making any interaction with the hotel system. Thus, the empirical study illustrated the need to incorporate the expected service for customers.
Qualitative study is a critical aspect in determining the service quality and customer satisfaction. While carrying out a study on the satisfaction rate of the customer loyalty on online shopping , Shafiee & Bazargan (2018) noted the role of e-service quality in establishing a connection between customer service and retention in the online platform. The author incorporated quantitative research strategy to determine the level of satisfaction rate for customers with the online platform and service delivery. The researcher focused on a large number of raw data by survey questions and answers. In this case, a structured, self-completion questionnaire and interviews were incorporated to measure the implication of the e-service quality dimension on the customer loyalty. The study targeted Sweden with a total population of 8,441,718. However, the sample population for Shafiee & Bazargan's study was 200. After an analysis of the collected data through the SPSS statistical analysis tool, there was a weak positive association between quality and customer loyalty. However, the major concern was the ease of using ecommerce plat form as the majority of customers (35.2%) found the ease of using platforms as an influence to their customer loyalty.
Jayasundara, Ngulube, and Minishi-Majanja (2010) conducted the study to investigate the level of service quality determinants to the customer satisfaction in the selected university libraries. The study used focus groups to determine the effects of quality determinants on t customer satisfaction in SriLanka. The study identified 113 service quality determinants. According to the study, the various university administration provided facilities that appeared to be adequate. However, the service providers placed less emphasis on quality service delivery. The study incorporated eight focus group members, two from each university. 7 participants included three undergraduates, two post graduate and two academic staffs. Next, the researcher asked the participants to assess quality determinants through Walk-Through-Audit (WTA) and the discussions conducted until no further question was forthcoming. The process identified 54 quality determinants. Three library information professors and two experts from service marketing reviewed the findings to determine the credibility. The inference from the study found out that customer satisfaction and service quality are interrelated. In this case, the focus group technique effectively asserts that a quality library service entails accurately, exhaustively and expeditiously satisfying the requests from customers.
Product Quality in Restaurants and Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty has acquired a substantial interest because it leads to a competitive advantage in business and could be significant in spotting the profitability of a restaurant chain. Wei (2010) conducted an empirical study on IKEA to determine the factors that have an impact on the customer loyalty. The study concentrated on the channels of communication on the information. Also, the study concentrated on enhancing customer loyalty through establishing proper management to feedback and handling of arising issues. The study evidently focused on the qualitative approach that incorporated interview from IKEA in both China and Sweden. The findings from the study noted that there were no differences in the services offered in the IKEA's store. In this case, the interviewee's offered an opinion that perceived the significance of loyalty product. In terms of attitudes, the respondents offered interesting opinions depicting the necessity to understand customers before improving the different aspects of the store. The researcher focuses on the aspect of cross case analysis to come up with a holistic approach to identify determinants of brand loyalty such as customer loyalty, attitude, and purchasing amount or frequencies.
The product quality, service quality and customer satisfaction are the key requisite of brand loyalty. The study from Naini (2022) illustrates the effects of the three factors in establishing a proper connection between customers and brands in the hotel sectors. Also, quantitative study is an important aspect of the study as it offered primary data about the key variables such as product quality, service quality and customer satisfaction. The four dimension adopted in the questionnaire include performance, features, durability, and serviceability were included in the likert scale questionnaire. The analysis of the data required binary logistic model through SPSS software. While 51% of the respondents were male (N=50), 49% of the respondents were females (N=49). The finding from the study revealed a positive coefficient value from X1 values. Thus, the increase in quality leads to a subsequent increase in the customer satisfaction. On the other hand, a low quality of service in the restaurant could lead to a low customer loyalty on the restaurant brand. In particular, a positive value on the customer satisfaction influences the increased customer loyalty.
Analysis, discussion and evaluation of research methodology
The literature review methodology is an interesting aspect of the study that focused on a mixed research study. The review can incorporate a quantitative research approach as a a significant instrument to synthesize quantitative based works and qualitative research approaches for qualitative based works. In the particular study, focus group is incorporated as an interesting aspect of qualitative data collection method. The study stresses on establishing a connection between perceived customer value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty.
The research methodology is a representative of the nature reality. While the study incorporates qualitative research by Wei (2010) and Ferdous and Mim (2021) and quantitative research by Naini (2022), Jayasundara, Ngulube, and Minishi-Majanja (2010), and Bazargan (2018), the use of focus groups is special in the study. In the focus group, the sample population is small and represents a general population such as a whole region or locality. The strength of the study is that it gives the key dimensions of the service quality that it increases the general knowledge about the specific area o study. Through the current study, it was necessary to identify various findings about the specific area of study and associated with the previous studies on the specific area (Anderson 2015). Therefore, it is necessary for the study to be applied in enhancing services in the hotel industry.
However, the study may lack potential depth to sufficiently illustrate the various attributes of customer satisfaction that could facilitate brand loyalty (Anderson 2015). The study incorporated resources that were difficult to establish the credibility of their findings from the previous qualitative research. Whikle there are various studies outlining the aspect of service quality and customer satisfaction rate, it is evident that majority of the studies do not focus on the hotel industry. While the study combines both qualitative and quantitative study, further research could enhance the findings from the study.
Findings and Conclusion
The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between customers perceived value, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the hotel industry. The particular study identifies the various methodologies incorporate in the previous studies to outline the critical need for establishing quality services for customer satisfaction and loyalty. There are various methodologies outlines in the study, including quantitative and qualitative aspect of empirical study. The study incorporated c=various variables such as customer perceived value, product quality and customer satisfaction and product or service quality with the customer loyalty. It is evident that customer satisfaction translates into customer loyalty in the long run. This research is important to managers and business owners in the hotel industry with the need to establish a greater value for their businesses with the objective of offering a greater satisfaction to their customers. In essence, the key stakeholders can combine the findings with the consumer decision making process and the expectancy disconfirmation with the performance model and construct a strategic framework for managers in the hotel industry.
However, the research has some limitation that makes the study unreliable. This study contributes to fulfillment of the gap. On the other hand, there is a limitation of data collection. The study involves using secondary data and thus could be biased. Also, it is difficult to validate the findings from qualitative research such as the studies from Wei (2010). Lastly, future research on hotel industry on perceived customer value, customer satisfaction and brand loyalty is necessary. There is a need for the researchers to come up with various dimensions that could be helpful for managers and business owners to trim their strategies and align with the specific objectives.