Service Quality

Hospitality Management 18 (1999) 67 — 82

Service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer value: A holistic perspective

Haemoon Oh*

Department of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management, Iowa State University, 11 MacKay Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1120, USA

Abstract The author proposes and tests an integrative model of service quality, customer value, and customer satisfaction. Using a sample from the luxury segment of the hotel industry, this study provides preliminary results supporting a holistic approach to hospitality customers’ postpurchase decision-making process. The model appears to possess practical validity as well as explanatory ability. Implications are discussed and suggestions are developed for both marketers and researchers. 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Price; Perception; Service quality; Customer value; Customer satisfaction; Purchase decision; Word-of-mouth communication

1. Introduction Recently, the hospitality literature has witnessed growing interest in research on service quality and customer satisfaction. A number of researchers have attempted to apply related theories and methods in the hospitality industry. Bojanic and Rosen (1994), for example, tested the SERVQUAL framework in the restaurant industry, while Saleh and Ryan (1991) applied the same model to the lodging industry. Knutson and colleagues have also attempted to develop a scale for measuring the quality of lodging services (Knutson et al., 1992; Patton et al., 1994). Similarly, Getty and Thompson (1994) proposed a scale to measure lodging service quality. Along with these research efforts, Barsky (1992) and Barsky and Labagh (1992) have attempted to introduce a customer satisfaction research framework, called the expectancy-disconfirmation model, into both the hotel and restaurant industry. Oh and colleagues studied

*Tel.: (515) 294-7409; Fax: (515) 294-8551; E-mail: hmoh@iastate.edu 0278-4319/99/$ — See front matter PII: S 02 7 8-4 3 19...