Relationship marketing and customer satisfaction in the Ghanaian hospitality industry

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how relationship marketing practice can lead to customer satisfaction in the current practices in the hotel industry in Ghana. Globally, the hospitality industry ranks as one of the most competitive business sectors with competing organisations relying on a cocktail of strategies such as relationship marketing to stay relevant, and attract and retain customers. This paper examines how relationship marketing impacts on trust, commitment and satisfaction for customers in the Ghanaian hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach A positivist methodological framework was used for the collection of data, analysis and theoretical development in this research. The data collection questionnaire was administered to 167 guests of a 3-star hotel in the Accra Metropolis. Structural equation modelling was used to ascertain the significance of the relationship that exists between trust, commitment and customer satisfaction with respect to the relationship marketing practices of hoteliers in Ghana. Findings Study findings provide insight into the processes and practices of relationship marketing that is based on trust and commitment. The findings show a positive and significant relationship between trust, commitment and customer satisfaction. The study also revealed that commitment partially mediates the association between trust and customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications While this study is limited to a single hospitality and tourism company in Ghana, the findings can have far reaching implications for managers in the hospitality industry in Ghana, it provides a vivid illustration of the impact that customer satisfaction can have on the fortunes of business and a genuine desire to develop trust and be committed to the welfare of business clients can lead to higher customer patronage. Practical implications Trust and commitment in the hospitality industry requires innovative business practices that makes the client value all the service experience that he or she may encounter. The findings indicate that customer satisfaction is influenced by trust and commitment in the hospitality industry. Originality/value Value to the authors’ knowledge, the relationship between trust and commitment in relationship marketing and customer satisfaction concepts has not previously been investigated using structural equation modelling analysis within the Ghanaian hospitality industry. This implies that both trust and commitment are necessary to attain customer satisfaction.

Tüzel Segment Müşterilerin Ana Bankalarına Yönelik Tekrarlayan Satın Alma Niyetlerinin Müşteri Memnuniyeti, Güven ve Değiştirme Engelleri Kapsamında İncelenmesi

“…As the trust of corporate segment customers in their main banks increases, so does the customer satisfaction regarding the service they receive from their main banks. This result is similar to Amoako et al (2019) 's studies.…”

“…Trust is an important factor that also affects customer satisfaction, because the business must first gain the customer's trust in order to create customer satisfaction (Amoako, Kutu-Adu, Caesar & Neequaye, 2019). A customer will only be able to reach the point of satisfaction if s/he has trust (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001).…”

Service Quality in Tourism Public Health: Trust, Satisfaction, and Loyalty

“…In the field of tourism, Wu et al (2016) found that trust is an important predictor of patient satisfaction in medical tourism. Amoako et al (2019) also showed that customer satisfaction is influenced by trust and commitment in the hospitality industry.…”

“…Considerable academic debate about the relationship between trust and satisfaction exists. Although some studies ( Al-Ansi and Han, 2019 ; Melian-Alzola and Martin-Santana, 2020 ) showed that customer satisfaction has a positive effect on trust, others showed that customers’ positive perception of trust affects their satisfaction ( Chang, 2014 ; Wu et al, 2016 ; Amoako et al, 2019 ). In the field of tourism, Wu et al (2016) found that trust is an important predictor of patient satisfaction in medical tourism.…”

An Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge and Practices in the Ghanaian Hospitality Industry

“…Hence, attention has been given to the implementation of food safety practices in most nations across the globe. e greatest impact of foodborne diseases has been reported in Africa [5]. In Ghana it is estimated that at least 1 out of 40 people are affected with foodborne diseases, which costs government 69 million dollars annually [6].…”