Benchmarking hotel service quality using two-dimensional importance-performance benchmark vectors (IPBV)

CITATION

Hemmington, N., Kim, P. B., & Wang, C. (2018). Benchmarking hotel service quality using two-dimensional importance-performance benchmark vectors (IPBV). Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 28(1), 2-25

For library access / research help in a similar topic: anyangoceline19@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Purpose – Importance-performance analysis (IPA) is an effective tool for firms to prioritise service quality
attributes, but has limitations in evaluating and enhancing service quality within a competitive environment.
The purpose of this paper is to present an evolved model of IPA – importance-performance benchmark vectors
(IPBV) – as a benchmarking tool and investigate its applicability in the context of hotel service quality.
Design/methodology/approach – Empirical studies based on self-completion survey data from 150
customers of two full-service hotels in Taiwan were conducted in to examine the practical utility of IPBV.
Findings – Eight key benchmark typologies were identified and expressed as vectors in the IPBVmodel which
are as follows: “sustainable advantage”, “potential strength”, “false advantage or outstanding advantage”,
“cease-fire competition”, “false disadvantage or on-hand disadvantage”, “potential weakness”, “dangerous
warning” and “head-on competition”.
Research limitations/implications – The paper extends the methodology to more cases, and other service
industries to test further the discriminatory power of the model and to explore the descriptors in the IPBV vector
model. Alternative seven-point or nine-point Likert scales could be explored to test the discriminant validity using
means. The alternative IPA diagonal approach focussing on GAP analysis may reveal alternative interpretations
for the IPBV vector model. Other extended models of IPA, which include competitor analysis, should be
compared in practice using a data set where both quantitative and qualitative data could be generated.
Practical implications – The paper proposes the two-dimensional IPBV model which retains the
advantages of IPA, but also includes competitor or benchmark comparisons which enable organisations to
analyse their relative competitive position. The two-part model provides both quantitative information and
qualitative interpretation of relativities. The graphical matrix models provide simple quantitative analysis of
attributes, whilst the IPBV vector model provides qualitative interpretations of the eight competitive market
positions. Vector analysis enables the development of competitive strategies relative to benchmarks, or within
a competitive set. Importance is retained and means that organisations can benchmark against a range of
competitors prioritising specific attributes for resource allocation.
Social implications – The interpretive utility of the model should be explored with practitioners and
decision makers in the service industries. The model has been designed for practical use in industry to inform
operational and strategic decision making, its usefulness in practice should be explored and the attitudes of
practitioners to the model should be tested.
Originality/value – Traditional approaches to benchmarking have adopted a one-dimensional approach that
does not include a measure of the relative importance of the service quality dimensions in specific markets. This
research develops a two-dimensional advanced model of IPA, called IPBV, which is based on vector
relationships between key attributes of service quality. These vectors are explored and described in competitive
terms and the model is discussed with regard to its implications for industry, practitioners and researchers.
Keywords Benchmarking, Hotel service attributes, Importance-performance analysis (IPA),
Importance-performance benchmark vectors (IPBV)


REFERENCES
Albayrak, T. (2015), “Importance performance competitor analysis (IPCA): a study of hospitality
companies”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 48, pp. 135-142.

Albayrak, T. and Caber, M. (2015), “Prioritisation of the hotel attributes according to their influence on
satisfaction: a comparison of two techniques”, Tourism Management, Vol. 46, pp. 43-50.

Alexandris, K., Dimitriadis, N. and Markata, D. (2002), “Can perceptions of service quality predict
behavioral intentions? An exploratory study in the hotel sector in Greece”, Managing Service
Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 224-231.

Azzopardi, E. and Nash, R. (2013), “A critical evaluation of importance-performance analysis”, Tourism
Management, Vol. 35, pp. 222-233.

Baker, S., Bradley, P. and Huyton, J. (2001), Principles of Hotel Front Office Operations, Cengage
Learning EMEA, London.

Bernini, C. and Guizzardi, A. (2015), “Improving performance measurement and benchmarking
in the accommodation sector”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 980-1002.

Borkar, S. and Koranne, S. (2014), “Study of service quality management in hotel industry”,
Pacific Business Review International, Vol. 6 No. 9, pp. 21-25.

Briggs, S., Sutherland, J. and Drummond, S. (2007), “Are hotels serving quality? An exploratory study
of service quality in the Scottish hotel sector”, Tourism Management, Vol. 28 No. 4,
pp. 1006-1019, doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2006.08.015.

Callan, R.J. (1998), “Attributional analysis of customers’ hotel selection criteria by UK grading scheme
categories”, International Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 36, pp. 20-34.

Carifio, J. and Perla, R. (2007), “Ten common misunderstandings, misconceptions, persistent myths and
urban legends about Likert scales and Likert response formats and their antidotes”, Journal of
Social Sciences, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 106-116.

Carifio, J. and Perla, R. (2008), “Resolving the 50-year debate around using and misusing Likert scales”,
Medical Education, Vol. 42 No. 12, pp. 1150-1152.

Chen, K.-Y. (2014), “Improving importance-performance analysis: the role of the zone of tolerance and
competitor performance. The case of Taiwan’s hot spring hotels”, Tourism Management,
Vol. 40, pp. 260-272, doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2013.06.009.

Chen, Y.-C. and Lin, S. (2013), “Applying importance-performance analysis for improving internal
marketing of hospital management in Taiwan”, International Business Research, Vol. 6No. 4, p. 45.

Choi, H.C., Lee, W., Sung, H. and Chiu, C.-F. (2014), “Evaluation of the service performance: application
of the zone of tolerance with importance performance analysis of a convention facility”,
in Woodside, A. and Kozak, M. (Eds), Tourists’ Behaviors and Evaluations (Advances in Culture,
Tourism and Hospitality Research), Vol. 9, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 9-19.

Cook, S. (1997), Practical Benchmarking: A Manager’s Guide to Creating A Competitive Advantage,
Kogan Page Publishers, London.

Deng, W.-J. (2008), “Fuzzy importance-performance analysis for determining critical service attributes”,
International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 252-270, doi: 10.1108/
09564230810869766.

Dolinsky, A.L. (1991), “Considering the competition in strategy development: an extension of
importance-performance analysis”, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 31-36.

Evans, M.R. and Chon, K.-S. (1989), “Formulating and evaluating tourism policy using importanceperformance
analysis”, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 203-213,
doi: 10.1177/109634808901300320.

Fernandez, P., McCarthy, I.P. and Rakotobe-Joel, T. (2001), “An evolutionary approach to benchmarking”,
Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 281-305, doi: 10.1108/14635770110403783.

Flouris, M. (1996), “Customer attitudes to tourism in Crete”, unpublished MSc dissertation,
Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.

Fu, H.-P., Chu, K.-K., Chao, P., Lee, H.-H. and Liao, Y.-C. (2011), “Using fuzzy AHP and VIKOR for
benchmarking analysis in the hotel industry”, The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 31 No. 14,
pp. 2373-2389, doi: 10.1080/02642069.2010.503874.

Gerson, R. (1993), Measuring Customer Satisfaction, Crisp Learning, Melo Park Calif.

Grobelna, A. and Marciszewska, B. (2013), “Measurement of service quality in the hotel sector: the case of
Northern Poland”, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 313-332.

Hassan, S. and Kortam, W. (2002), “The implications of customer-driven benchmarking to sustained
marketing performance: theoretical analysis and research propositions”, Proceedings of the
British Academy of Marketing Conference, Nottingham University Business School, University of
Nottingham, Nottingham, 3rd-5th July.

Hemmington, N., Kim, P.B. and Wang, C. (2015), “An extended model of importance-performance
analysis (IPA) as a benchmarking technique for hotel service quality”, in Poulsten, J. and Kim, P.
(Eds), Hospitality and Tourism in a Greening World: Proceedings of the 13th Asia Pacific CHRIE
Conference, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, pp. 107-109.

Holt, A. and Eccles, T. (2015), “Financial reporting for commercial service charges in the retail sector:
benchmarking practice standards for UK shopping centres”, Property Management, Vol. 33
No. 2, pp. 152-172, doi: 10.1108/PM-06-2014-0027.

Jakobsson, U. (2004), “Statistical presentation and analysis of ordinal data in nursing research”,
Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 437-440.

Jamieson, S. (2004), “Likert scales: how to (ab)use them”, Medical Education, Vol. 38 No. 12,
pp. 1217-1218.

Janes, P.L. and Wisnom, M.S. (2003), “The use of importance performance analysis in the hospitality
industry”, Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, Vol. 4 Nos 1/2, pp. 23-45.

Kano, N., Seraku, N., Takahashi, F. and Tsuji, S. (1984), “Attractive quality and must-be quality”,
Journal of the Japanese Society for Quality Control, Vol. 41, pp. 39-48.

Keyt, J.C., Yavas, U. and Riecken, G. (1994), “Importance‐performance analysis: a case study in
restaurant positioning”, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 22
No. 5, pp. 35-40, doi: 10.1108/09590559410067325.

Kim, B. and Oh, H. (2001), “An extended application of importance-performance analysis”, Journal of
Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, Vol. 9 Nos 3/4, pp. 107-125.

Kyriakidou, O. and Gore, J. (2005), “Learning by example: benchmarking organizational culture in
hospitality, tourism and leisure SMEs”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 12 No. 3,
pp. 192-206, doi: 10.1108/14635770510600320.

Ladhari, R. (2009), “Service quality, emotional satisfaction, and behavioural intentions: a study in the
hotel industry”, Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 308-331.

Lemieux, C.J., Thompson, J.L., Dawson, J. and Schuster, R.M. (2013), “Natural resource manager
perceptions of agency performance on climate change”, Journal of Environmental Management,
Vol. 114, pp. 178-189.
22

Lewis, R.C. (1984), “The basis of hotel selection”, The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration
Quarterly, May, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 54-69.

Maleyeff, J. (2003), “Benchmarking performance indices: pitfalls and solutions”, Benchmarking:
An International Journal, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 9-28.

Manhas, P.S. and Tukamushaba, E.K. (2015), “Understanding service experience and its impact on
brand
image in hospitality sector”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 45, pp. 77-87.

Martilla, J.A. and James, J.C. (1977), “Importance-performance analysis”, The journal of marketing,
Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 77-79, doi: 10.2307/1250495.

Matzler, K. and Sauerwein, E. (2002), “The factor structure of customer satisfaction: an empirical test of
the importance grid and the penalty-reward-contrast analysis”, International Journal of Service
Industry Management, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 314-332.

Matzler, K., Bailom, F., Hinterhuber, H.H., Renzl, B. and Pichler, J. (2004), “The asymmetric relationship
between attribute-level performance and overall customer satisfaction: a reconsideration of the
importance-performance analysis”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 271-277,
doi: 10.1016/S0019-8501(03)00055-5.

Matzler, K., Sauerwein, E. and Heischmidt, K. (2003), “Importance-performance analysis revisited: the
role of the factor structure of customer satisfaction”, The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 23 No. 2,
pp. 112-129.

Maxwell, G., McDougall, M. and Blair, S. (2000), “Managing diversity in the hotel sector: the emergence
of a service quality opportunity”, Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 10
No. 6, pp. 367-373.

Mikulić, J. and Prebezac, D. (2011), “Evaluating hotel animation programs at Mediterranean sun-andsea
resorts: an impact-asymmetry analysis”, Tourism Management, Vol. 32, pp. 688-696.

Millar, M. and Baloglu, S. (2011), “Hotel guests’ preferences for green guest room attributes”, Cornell
Hospitality Quarterly, Vol. 52 No. 3, pp. 302-311.

Min, H. and Min, H. (2011), “Benchmarking the service quality of fast-food restaurant franchises in the
USA: a longitudinal study”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 282-300.

Min, H., Min, H. and Chung, K. (2002), “Dynamic benchmarking of hotel service quality”, Journal of Services
Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 302-321.

Min, H., Min, H. and Gunasekaran, A. (2015), “Benchmarking the service quality of airlines in the United
States: an exploratory analysis”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 22 No. 5, pp. 734-751.

Motwani, J.G. and Sower, V.E. (2006), “Benchmarking in services”, Benchmarking: An International
Journal, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 389-390, doi: 10.1108/bij.2006.13113caa.001.

Nightingale, M. (1985), “The hospitality industry: defining quality for a quality assurance programme – a
study of perceptions”, Service Industries Journal, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 9-22.

Norman, G. (2010), “Likert scales, levels of measurement and the ‘laws’ of statistics”, Advances in
Health Science Education, Vol. 15 No. 5, pp. 625-632.

Oh, H. (2001), “Revisiting importance-performance analysis”, Tourism Management, Vol. 22 No. 6,
pp. 617-627.

Ortinau, D.J., Bush, A.J., Bush, R.P. and Twible, J.L. (1989), “The use of importance-performance
analysis for improving the quality of marketing education: interpreting faculty-course
evaluations”, Journal of Marketing Education, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 78-86.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1985), “A conceptual model of service quality and its
implications for future research”, The Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 41-50.

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, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 12-40.

Pardis, M. and Alireza, M. (2013), “Exploring two main perspectives towards customer satisfaction in
hotel industry: managers and customers”, International Journal of Academic Research in
Business and Social Sciences, Vol. 3 No. 9, pp. 245-272.

Prentice, C. (2013), “Service quality perceptions and customer loyalty in casinos”, International Journal
of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 49-64.

Ramanathan, U. and Ramanathan, R. (2011), “Guests’ perceptions on factors influencing customer
loyalty: an analysis for UK hotels”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 7-25.

Riley, M. and Perogiannis, N. (1990), “The influence of hotel attributes on the selection of a conference
venue”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 17-22.

Roberts, C. (2013), “Competitive advantages of service quality in hospitality, tourism, and leisure
services”, in Kandampully, J., Mok, C. and Sparks, B. (Eds), Service Quality Management in
Hospitality, Tourism, and Leisure, Hawworth Press, Inc., Binghamton, NY, p. 111.

Ryan, C. and Huyton, J. (2002), “Tourists and aboriginal people”, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 29
No. 3, pp. 631-647.

Sampson, S. and Showalter, M.J. (1999), “The performance-importance response function: observations
and implications”, The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 1-25, doi: 10.1080/
02642069900000027.

Šeric, M., Gil-Saura, I. and Mollá-Descals, A. (2016), “Can advanced technology affect customer-based
brand equity in service firms? An empirical study in upscale hotels”, Journal of Service Theory
and Practice, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 2-27.

Shamma, H. and Hassan, S. (2013), “Customer‐driven benchmarking: a strategic approach toward a
sustainable marketing performance”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 20 No. 3,
pp. 377-395, doi: 10.1108/14635771311318144.

Sower, V., Duffy, J., Kilbourne, W., Kohers, G. and Jones, P. (2001), “The dimensions of service quality
for hospitals: development and use of the KQCAH scale”, Health Care Management Review,
Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 47-59.

Sullivan, G.M. and Artino, A.R. (2013), “Analyzing and interpreting data from Likert-type scales”,
Journal of Graduate Medical Education, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 541-542.

Tambellini, V. and Liu, T.S.K. (2005),Are YouExceeding Your Customers’ Expectations? Strategies, Metrics,
and Best Practices for A Customer-Focused Contact Centre, Oracle Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA.

Taplin, R.H. (2012), “Competitive importance-performance analysis of an Australian wildlife park”,
Tourism Management, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 29-37, doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2011.01.020.

Ting, S.-C. and Chen, C.-N. (2002), “The asymmetrical and non-linear effects of store quality attributes
on customer satisfaction”, Total Quality Management, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 547-569.

Tonge, J. and Moore, S.A. (2007), “Importance-satisfaction analysis for marine park hinterlands:
a Western Australia case study”, Tourism Management, Vol. 28, pp. 768-776.

Tontini, G., Picolo, J.D. and Silveira, A. (2014), “Which incremental innovations should we offer?
Comparing importance-performance analysis with improvement-gaps analysis”, Total Quality
Management & Business Excellence, Vol. 25 Nos 7/8, pp. 705-719.

Uysal, M. and Williams, J.A. (2013), Current Issues and Development in Hospitality and Tourism
Satisfaction, Routledge, London.

Veal, A.J. (2011), Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism: A Practical Guide, Prentice Hall,
Harlow, Essex.

Vigderhous, G. (1977), “The level of measurement and ‘permissible’ statistical analysis in social
research”, The Pacific Sociological Review, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 61-72.

Walker, J.R. (2016), Introduction to Hospitality, Pearson Higher Education, New Jersey, NJ.

Xu, C. (2013), “The modified importance-performance analysis method and its application in tourist
satisfaction research”, Tourism Tribune, Vol. 28 No. 11, pp. 59-66.

Yavas, U. and Shemwell, D.J. (2001), “Modified importance-performance analysis: an application to
hospitals”, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 104-110.