Ensuring customer satisfaction through service quality and image management in the hospitality industry: A conceptual perspective

Service quality and customer satisfaction have been studied a great deal within services marketing literature. Many measurement models of service quality have been presented mostly revolving around the SERVQUAL and Gronroos' (1984) technical and functional quality model. These models mostly discussed the functional attributes ignoring significance of service quality's technical attributes and image in developing customers' perceptions and satisfaction. Therefore, this paper presents a conceptual framework that is based on Gronroos' (1984) technical and functional model, where technical quality is assessed by Wu and Ko's (2013) dimensions and functional quality is assessed by the lodging quality index (LQI). The proposed framework focuses on the interrelationships between functional quality, technical quality, image, perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. Cue-utilisation theory is used as the theoretical base for this model. Suggestions for managers and researchers are also given on implementing the core concepts from the model.