Cultural essentialism and tailored hotel service for Chinese: the moderating role of satisfaction

作者：Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong, Hongwei He, Melody Manchi Chao, Leandro Galli, DAVID J. KING · 发表于：International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1108/ijchm-11-2018-0910 · 被引用次数：23 · 研究领域：Customer Service Quality and Loyalty、Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification、Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand Chinese consumers’ responses to ethnically tailored hotel services from the theoretical perspective of cultural essentialism. Design/methodology/approach Data collection was conducted through an online survey with Chinese respondents. Hierarchical moderated regression was performed to analyze the data. Findings The results show a positive relationship between cultural essentialism and consumer responses to hotel services that are tailored to their culture. Furthermore, the findings show that prior service satisfaction does not only positively influence the consumer responses, but also amplifies the link between cultural essentialism and the consumer responses. Practical implications Hoteliers are recommended to consider the cultural essentialism of Chinese consumers when adaptive services are introduced. Hotel services that are tailored to Chinese culture is a viable strategy if most Chinese customers are cultural essentialists. Originality/value This study adds knowledge to the hospitality scholarship by introducing cultural essentialism and demonstrating its role in influencing consumer preferences for familiarity as opposed to exotic hotel services. Furthermore, the moderating role of service satisfaction extends the consumer behavior literature.