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The aim of this chapter is to investigate factors affecting four of the gaps encompassed in the GAP model, which then results in Gap 5, the so-called customer gap, related to the variance between customer expectations and the perception of service quality (SQ). Four predictors were selected based on the literature review – marketing research orientation (MRO), service specification design (SSD), integrated technology (ITC) and integrated communication (ICO) – to examine their relationship with the customer gap. A valid and reliable questionnaire, developed for the purpose of the study, was used to collect data from a sample consisting of 600 employees from six hotels located in Amman, Jordan. The findings show that MRO, SSD, ITC and ICO significantly predict the four gaps in SQ on the provider side, which in turn significantly predict the customer gap. For companies, more attention should be paid to the four gaps that induce the customer gap.

Companies are constantly striving for superior customer service that meets consumers' expectations. Products that do not provide consumers with good service quality are unlikely to meet the expectations of consumers. The aim is to maximize customer satisfaction and achieve financial success by closing gaps to provide high-quality service to consumers. Customers use quality of service to choose a service provider. This does not only include the quality of products or service but also the quality of customer service. The five essential elements (5Es) – experience, emotions, exclusivity, execution and engagement – must be used by companies to ensure that their products and services meet defined standards or customer's expectations. The customer's opinion of a service is formed immediately, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. The result of a negative customer experience is negative word of mouth, which would cause loss in business from dissatisfied customers as well as from potential customers who will no longer use the services. Using the gap model for service quality, this study proposes the essential 5Es of service quality. As a result of the synthesis of this current research, the company's service delivery will be improved by identifying weaknesses. The use of these 5Es for the control of service quality and monitoring of quality defects leads to better understanding and reduction of cost.

This paper examines the relationship between transportation quality, customer satisfaction and profitability. Specifically, this study examines the simultaneous and asynchronous effect of quality of transportation services on customer satisfaction and financial performance and then performs the same examination in relation to the effect of customer satisfaction on financial performance. The partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling is used to examine longitudinal data from 1995 to 2018 from the US airline industry. The findings suggest that low service quality in transportation has adverse effects on customer satisfaction and financial performance, while the impact of customer satisfaction on financial performance in the US Airline transportation industry is mixed. The authors found that the impact of customer satisfaction on financial performance is significant in full-service airlines but not in low-cost airlines. Surprisingly, the authors found no significant direct relationship between transportation quality and financial performance in the US airline industry.

Relationship marketing is widely accepted as the most successful way to build customer loyalty and competitive advantage in a mature, competitive market. The study investigates customer loyalty programmes within the context of service quality in Swedish hotels using an online questionnaire survey. Five service quality factors were identified: technical, functional, environmental, technological convenience and technological product dimensions, which supports the Northern European service quality model with the addition of technological dimensions. Five loyalty programme factors were also established and factor scores were mainly undifferentiated on the basis of socio-demographic and behavioural variables. The implications of the results are discussed and recommendations for further research are made.

The competitive nature of the hotel industry has given the impetus to practitioners and researchers to invest in Customer Retention strategies and research. Although numerous studies have investigated Customer Retention in the hotel industry, there is still uncertainty regarding Customer Retention in emerging markets. This study, therefore, adds to the existing knowledge by exploring Customer Retention in Ghana, an emerging market. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey of 873 customers of 56 hotels in four regional capitals located in the southern part of Ghana. Findings indicate that service Tangible and Reliability indirectly relates hotel Customer Retention in Ghana, an emerging market.

As the hospitality industry is shifting its focus from service to experience, customers are becoming co-creators of the perceived value of a hospitality service because experiences customers obtained when consuming a hospitality service involve the participation of the customers. Thus, more research is needed to examine the relationships among consumer’s personal factors and their evaluations of hospitality services. This study developed and tested hypotheses that examined the effects of customers’ intrinsic characteristics on their evaluations of a restaurant service. Data were collected from college students in the United States (n = 220) and China (n = 254) using a scenario approach. Findings reveal that customers’ gender, personality, and cultural background had significant effects on their evaluations of a restaurant service. Specifically, female customers rated the same service higher than male customers on the reliability dimension of service quality and overall service quality; customers with personalities of extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness rated the service higher than customers with neuroticism personality on the responsiveness dimension; and customers in individualistic cultures rated the service higher than those in collectivistic cultures on most of the service evaluation measures. Implications of the study’s findings are discussed.

This study investigates the motivation among customers to be more loyal to online food delivery applications (OFDA) services even after the COVID-19 epidemic by using perceived service quality aspects in Sri Lanka. The data were gathered by physically distributing a self-administrated questionnaire to clients in Sri Lanka who continue to use OFDA services on platform to customer (P2C) service delivery platforms to buy food despite the COVID-19 outbreak. Multiple regression is employed to analyse 287 effective observations, and the data revealed the significant positive effect of interaction, environment, outcome, and food qualities on customer loyalty to OFDA services. In fact, there is no impact from the delivery quality on customer loyalty to OFDA services due to outsourced food delivery. The findings suggest regular improvements in attributes such as interaction, environment, outcome, and food qualities in this hyper-competitive business environment. Further, this study sets substantial facts for the interested parties to establish an exemplary delivery system and other technological advancements to have a sustainable competitive advantage and solid customer base in the long run.

Increased competition amongst the hotel industry players has challenged managers not to focus their attention exclusively on ways to attract and satisfy their customers, but to invest in customer retention strategies with the potential to ensure superior performance of their hotels. This study aims to determine strategies to retain customers in hotels in Ghana, an emerging market. A cross-sectional survey was employed to collect data from 677 hotel employees in 56 Ghanaian licensed hotels. Based on SmartPLS, study findings indicate that customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention embedded in the tangibility and reliability dimensions of the lodging quality index are important for customer retention among hotels in Ghana.

E-wallet is one of the financial technology (fintech) products. In Indonesia, e-wallet is still in the growing stage. Many e-wallet providers are attracted to join the market every year, and the competition becomes tighter, focusing on customer acquisition. Promotion is launched, burning much cash in making the promotion. However, cash-burning does not guarantee that customers will use one e-wallet. Customer satisfaction is an important key element of success and continuous use in information systems and e-commerce contexts. This research aims to investigate the satisfaction of e-wallet customer in Indonesia, focusing on and extending the trust role. This study adopted the model proposed by Geebren, Jabbar, and Luo (2021), which is an extension of information system success model. This research used Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares to analyze the data. It was found that factors that influence customer satisfaction are trust, system quality, information quality, service quality, and structural assurance. The authors found that trust positively affects customer satisfaction, and trust plays a vital role in customer satisfaction. Also, trust has a role as partial and full mediators. It is suggested that e-wallet providers should consider enhancing customer satisfaction.