Service quality facets and hotel customer retention in Ghana: Evidence from the Volta Region

Abstract

Service quality and customer retention remain essential issues in the service sector. This research delves into unravelling the complex relationships between the facets of the SERVQUAL model (reliability, responsiveness, tangibility, assurance, and empathy) and the retention of hotel customers in less-urban areas of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey of 450 customers of hotels in the Volta Region produced data for descriptive and regression analyses using Smart PLS 4. The results show that service quality was rated moderately, only assurance and empathy significantly affect customer retention, while tangibility, reliability, and responsiveness do not. Generalizability of our findings to other regions of Ghana and elsewhere might be questioned because the study was limited to only one region. However, this seeming limitation provides novelty and value in several ways. Firstly, while SERVQUAL is widely used, its application to less-urban geographical areas like the Volta Region is uncommon. Moreover, the study provides a deeper understanding of how service quality affects customer retention by focusing on a specific, narrow regional area. Further, by differing from the usual broader hospitality research, this distinctive approach offers valuable insights into local customers' unique preferences and behaviours that larger-scale studies may overlook.

Keywords: {'name': 'SERVQUAL'}, {'name': 'Customer retention'}, {'name': 'Volta Region'}, {'name': 'Service quality'}

Authors & affiliations

Otilia Adzinyo
Affiliation not supplied

Dennis Yao Dzansi
Affiliation not supplied

Albertus Johannes Strydom
Affiliation not supplied

Deposited references

Supplied references, not a list of publications citing this article.

Ahmed, I., Nawaz, M. M., Ahmad, Z., Ahmad, Z., Shaukat, M. Z., Usman, A., and Ahmed, N. (2010). Does service quality affect students' performance? Evidence from institutes of higher learning. African journal of business management, 4(12), 2527.

Al-Ababneh, M., Al-Hawari, M. A., and Bataineh, R. A. (2020). The effect of service quality on customer loyalty: An empirical study on five-star hotels in Jordan. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 12(2), 143-161.

DOI: 10.1016/j.tele.2017.05.008

DOI: 10.22161/ijebm.5.2.6

DOI: 10.4324/9781003285007

DOI: 10.1007/s40547-017-0080-0

DOI: 10.1016/0148-2963(92)90022-4

DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2018.1491780

DOI: 10.1016/0007-6813(85)90008-4

Blery, E., Ferrier, E., Fischer-Lokou, J., and Rasolofoarison, D. (2013). How can empathy be developed within organizations? Journal of Business Research, 66(5), 724-730.

DOI: 10.1016/j.rauspm.2017.06.004

DOI: 10.1201/9780203749999

Chen, C.F., Chang, Y.Y., & Tsai, Y.H. (2018). Exploring the impact of hotel service quality on tourists’ loyalty: An empirical analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 72, 23-32.

DOI: 10.1177/21582440211052256

Choi, Y. J., and Chu, R. (2015). The effect of hotel service quality on loyalty: A comparison between business and leisure travellers in Korea. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 32(8), 1014-1029.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2011.041242

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.01.003

DOI: 10.4324/9781003343097

Gallo, A. (2014). The value of keeping the right customers. Available at: https://hbr.org/2014/10/the-value-of-keeping-the-right-customers (Accessed on 10 January, 2024).

DOI: 10.1057/dddmp.2010.27

Gonu, E. & Boohene, R. (2016). Antecedents of Customer Retention of Ghana Commercial Bank within Agona Swedru Municipality. European Journal of Business and Management, 8(8), 2016.

DOI: 10.1108/EUM0000000004784

Hamadziripi, G. and Daniels, T. (2023). Guest Satisfaction at Commercial Hospitality Training Facilities in South Africa. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 12(5SE): 1683-1692.

Hoffman, K. D. and Bateson, J. E. G. (2011). Service marketing concepts, strategies and cases. Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Karatepe, O. M., and Uludag, O. (2017). The effects of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction and loyalty in the hotel industry. Journal of Global Marketing, 30(1), 46-58.

Khan, M. A., and Fasih, M. (2014). Service quality and customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 2(1), 1-14.

DOI: 10.5539/ijms.v2n2p57

Kim, W. G., Kim, H. J., and Lee, D. (2017). The impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty in the Korean hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(10), 2464-2487

Kumar, S., Saini, D. S., and Saini, M. K. (2009). Measuring perceived service quality in higher education: an empirical analysis. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 20(5), 571-588.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.01.010

Lee, J. S., and Hwang, J. (2015). Service quality factors affecting customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the hotel industry. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 6(6), 413-416.

Liu, Y., Li, X., Chen, H. and Balachandran, K. R. (2015). Understanding customer satisfaction and loyalty: An empirical study of mobile instant messages in China. International Journal of Information Management, 35(6), 643-650.

Mousavi, B. (2012). Relationship Quality Strategy and Customer Loyalty. Singapore: IACSIT Press.

DOI: 10.1108/IJRDM-01-2019-0016

DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.fsm.4760033

DOI: 10.1108/02652320110388559

Nguyen, H. T. T., Nguyen, T. L. H., and Nguyen, T. L. (2018). The impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty: Evidence from hotel industry in Vietnam. Journal of Tourism Research, 20(3), 155-173.

Nooni, I. K., Fianko, K. S. and Mensah, W. (2015). Assessing the impact of Service Quality on Customer Loyalty: A case study of the Cellular Industry of Ghana. British Journal of Marketing Studies, 3(6), 15-30.

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2493709

DOI: 10.24018/ejbmr.2020.5.5.538

DOI: 10.1177/002224378001700405

Omotayo, O., & Joachim, A. A. (2008). Customer service in the retention of mobile phone users in Nigeria. African Journal of Business Management, 2(2), 26.

DOI: 10.4324/9781315143583

Panda, T. K., & Rath, S. K. (2018). Antecedents and outcomes of customer satisfaction in retail banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 36(1), 188-204.

DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.282047

DOI: 10.1177/002224298504900403

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., and Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12–40.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.101977

Reichheld, F. F. and Sasser, W. E. (1990). Zero defections: Quality comes to services. Harvard Business Review, 68(5), 105–111.

DOI: 10.1080/15378020801926551

Sadek, H. A., Hassanien, A. & Dale, C. (2010). Service quality and its impact on customer satisfaction in Egyptian hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 22(6), 769-788.

DOI: 10.1108/ARLA-07-2022-0148

DOI: 10.29138/ijebd.v3i4.1217

Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2019) Research Methods for Business Students. New York: Pearson.

Singh, J. and Dev, C. (2015). Customer retention management: A reflection of theory and practice. Journal of Management Research, 15(3), 193-212.

Tabachnick, B. G. and Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using Multivariate Statistics : New York: Pearson.

DOI: 10.1509/jmkg.68.1.1.24036

DOI: 10.1108/03090560410560254

DOI: 10.2307/30036540

Zalfa, L., and Siew, L. H. (2017). The impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in a hotel industry: a case study of a five-star hotel in Thailand. International Journal of Business and Management, 12(4), 25-35.