Vital Predictors of Hotel Guests’ Decision to Engage in Word-of-Mouth Behavior - The Mediating Role of Switching Barriers -

Abstract

Little research has examined the role of service encounter as a primary factor/single independent variable in explaining Word-of-Mouth (WOM) formation in the hotel industry. In addition, previous research has not specifically identified whether high/low level of perceived switching barriers, satisfaction, trust, and commitment maximizes/ minimizes the effect of the quality of service encounter on WOM. In the present study, these gaps were successfully explored by empirically testing the proposed theoretical framework. Findings from the structural model indicated that our proposed conceptual framework satisfactorily fit the data; the prominent role of service encounter in the formation of WOM was identified; and the mediating effects of positive and negative switching barriers, satisfaction, trust, and commitment on the likelihood of generating favorable WOM were empirically verified. Overall, the complicated interrelationships among the study constructs have been fully identified. Findings of the present study, evoked from a survey at mid-scale hotels, imply that to achieve recommendation/ favorable WOM, hotel marketers need to pay special attention to the enhancement of the quality of service encounter, the active generation of switching barriers, and the increase of satisfaction, trust, and commitment.