Towards a comparison of three customer value perspectives in the hotel industry: insights from Moroccan context

Abstract

Purpose

While creating and delivering customer value involves managers, frontline employees and tourists; no prior study has investigated and compared the customer value from these three different perspectives. This paper aims to fill this gap, thereby facilitating the enhancement of the value proposition (VP) and its implementation by frontline employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing three surveys that represent the perspectives of three actors (managers, frontline employees and customers), this study investigates perceptions using both SmartPls4 and SPSS25. SmartPls4 is useful for construct validation, whereas SPSS25 is suitable for hypothesis testing.

Findings

In three- and four-star hotels, the results reveals significant disparities between in the perception of customer value between managers and frontline employees, as well as between frontline employees and customers. Similar discrepancies are observed between managers and customers. However, in five-star hotels, the study indicates that there are no significant differences in the perception of customer value among the three actors (managers, frontline employees and customers).

Practical implications

In three- and four-star hotels, the results suggest two primary managerial implications: firstly, the need to enhance understanding of guests, and secondly, to motivate and engage frontline employees in contributing to the development and shaping of the VP. Conversely, in five-star hotels, they should maintain the value they conceive and offer.

Originality/value

This study stands out in the realism of hospitality customer value investigation as it pioneers in offering valuable and useful insights from three different perspectives related to the three actors involved in customer value (managers, frontline employees and customers) within three, four and five-star hotels.

Citation

Nejjari, R. and Slaoui, S. (2024), "Towards a comparison of three customer value perspectives in the hotel industry: insights from Moroccan context", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-03-2024-0236