Culture and Service Quality

Abstract

This chapter uses the dataset of tourist satisfaction index of Hong Kong to investigate the impact of cultural difference on the gap between tourists’ expectations and their perceptions of actual service performance. When the tourists’ demographic profile and their experience are controlled, it is found that small cultural difference between Hong Kong and Mainland China has a positive impact on expectation–performance gap, whereas negative relationship is identified for large cultural difference between Hong Kong and Western countries. The practical implication for the former is that service providers should manage the gap in accordance with the aspects of the cultural difference between the destination and the source markets.

Citation

Kim, B., Zhou, L. and Liu, A. (2018), "Culture and Service Quality", Quality Services and Experiences in Hospitality and Tourism (Bridging Tourism Theory and Practice, Vol. 9), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 59-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2042-144320180000009005