Methodology
(Methodology)
Philosophy
In order to study the problem carefully and understand the relationship between consumer behaviors (perception) and hotel service quality it is necessary to conduct the research using some of the existing methods. The research will follow an interpretivism approach.
In order to choose the appropriate methods of research it is required to identify what kind of results are expected. Consumer behavior (perception) is not something typical or standard. Even though the hotel can provide the same conditions and level of service for all its guests, every individual will have its own opinion in this respect. Some guests may consider the services to be excellent, other – satisfactory, but there can also be people that totally dislike the service. Therefore the appropriate and universal research methods and their results should be identified, elaborated and analyzed in order to meet the goal of this dissertation.
Approach
Taking into account the peculiarities of this research, it is necessary to decide what research methods to choose. Research methods can be quantitative and qualitative. In this dissertation mostly qualitative research will be used.
Qualitative Research
One of the scientific research types is qualitative research. Generally, scientific investigation includes the following: tries to give answers to different questions; provides evidence; uses systematically a set of predefined procedures to find answers to the research question; generates results that can be applied beyond the study’s immediate boundaries; generates results that were not identified before.
In addition, qualitative research tries to profoundly investigate a given research topic or problem from the local population’s perspective that is involved into the researched issue. Qualitative research is effective especially in obtaining information that is culturally specific regarding the opinions, values, social contexts, and behaviors of particular individuals (Qualitative Research Methods Overview, n.d.).
Taking into account the above information, it is possible to conclude that in case of the present dissertation more attention should be paid to the qualitative research. Here it is necessary to study the behavior of the customers and various factors that influence it. Besides the general information, it is also necessary to take into account customers and staff members’ personalities, attitudes, nationalities, cultural backgrounds, levels and prices of hotels, and etc. This all will influence the final result of the study. Except for receiving information from the surveyed individuals and other sources, it is required to analyze it and draw conclusions.
Strategy and Research Design
The research will be conducted among managers and customers of the hotels and involve individuals that are most suitable and can provide appropriate up-to-date information related to the issue.
Sample
Managers: 12 hotel managers older than 30 years old having at least 5 years of experience in the managerial position in hotel industry, representatives of any ethnicity.
Customers: 30 people older than 25 years old, frequent travelers that stay in at least 15 hotels per year. The respondents will be chosen from Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
Managers will be asked questions about their work experience in the hotels, their communication with the clients, their view of the ways of service improvement, experience with the workforce and customers’ cultural diversity, conflicts resolution, and etc. This will allow understanding the service providing in the hotel from the managers’ point of view and compare it to the one from customers’ point of view.
Customers will be asked questions about their experience of travelling and the role of hotels service in them, their preferences regarding the hotels’ selection, their expectation to the service level and its relation with the price of the hotel, communication with the hotel staff and management, their attitude to the hotel facilities (refurbishment, equipment, furniture, food), and etc. This will provide the possibility to understand service quality expectations and perceptions of the hotel service level by the customers in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
The questions will be asked mainly on-line and by the phone. Before the interview the respondents will provide information on what date and time is acceptable for them when they can devote enough time for the interview.
Observations will be done in the reception area of the hotel and all the results will be notified. Observation will take 2 days. Documentary analysis will take 5 days. The research will study and describe only the statements received from the individuals, no other information will be involved. Therefore, the results can be considered to be valid and reliable.
Data Collection and Analysis Methods
The following methods of qualitative research will be applied to this dissertation: interviews, observations, and documentary analysis.
Interviews
In order to receive reliable information from the customers and staff members’ of the hotels it is necessary to conduct some interviews. Most probably they will be conducted on-line. It is necessary to find several individuals that have a significant experience in travelling and using hotels’ services. The surveyed individuals will be chosen according to the requirements of the research (age, nationality, cultural background, social status, and etc.). After interviews’ conducting, the data obtained from the surveyed individuals will be carefully analyzed and systematized.
Observations
Observation is also useful in case it is necessary to study the relationship between consumer behavior (perception) and hotel service quality. It is possible to organize observation in different ways. For example, it is possible to stay in the reception area of the hotel and observe the interaction between hotel staff and customers. Another option is to observe a similar interaction in the hotel’s restaurant or bar. The results of the observation should be noted and later analyzed and/or discussed. This method may involve the subjective point of view.
Documentary Analysis
Documentary analysis is one of the most effective and reliable methods of the research. It will include the analysis of different open sources (articles, websites, feedbacks, and etc.). Also it is planned to check questionnaires and guest-books available in the hotels, if possible. Usually hotels ask their clients to fill out some standard forms or leave a written feedback about the hotel in order to monitor customers’ satisfaction and identify what aspects of service should be approved. Analysis of the standard questionnaires can also be used for the quantitative research as the variants of answers can be organized and analyzed.
Considering the objectives of this dissertation, each of them requires certain research methods in order to answer the questions:
Identification of the possible steps to reach positive consumer perception.
The first objective requires the answers to all the other questions of the dissertation. It requires either quantitative or qualitative research methods.
Offering ways of hotel service quality improvement.
The second objective requires either qualitative or quantitative methods. First, it is necessary to identify which services have to be improved. Second, it is required to decide how to improve them. Thus, first issue requires quantitative method, and the second needs qualitative ones.
Suggesting the ways of successful dealing with cultural diversity of the hotel customers and the staff.
The third objective requires only qualitative method, mainly interview and observation.
Determine the role of management in hotel service quality improvement.
For the fourth objective both qualitative and quantitative methods are possible. Managers will be offered to fill out questionnaires that involve questions regarding their experience with the customers. Also some managers will be interviewed with the purpose to receive detailed comments on their work and role in the hotels.
Identification of the most suitable ways of getting feedback from the customers.
This question should be answered first. This is the main point that will provide information necessary for all the above objectives. Taking into account the topic of the given dissertation, most suitable ways of getting feedback from the customers may appear to be interviews and documentary analysis.
It is planned to utilize (as far as it will be possible) all the above mentioned research methods with the purpose to best research and fully answer the main questions of this dissertation. Once the research is performed, it will be necessary to collect all the results, analyze them, and draw conclusions in accordance with the dissertation goals and objectives.
Ethics, Reliability, Validity, Generalizability and Limitations
Ethics. The data received from the individuals in the process of this research will not by revealed to the third parties. The study will only represent the received outcomes without mentioning names of the respondents. The questions will not involve any secret data or information that contains commercial secret. The questions will be of general character and will not relate to any specific places/individuals.
Reliability. The research will be based mostly on the opinions of the individuals that can sometimes be subjective. The data from the research will be presented without any adjustments and/or corrections.
Validity. The study will be valid as it will be based on the survey among the persons that are significantly involved into the researched issue.
Generalizability. The present study will contain the investigation of cultural aspects among others. In this area it may not be applicable to the representatives of the other cultures. Other aspects are general and can be used by the other researchers for their studies.
Limitations. The study will involve only adult individuals from the following regions: the U.S., Europe and Asia. Representatives of the other countries will not participate in the research.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Qualitative Research Methods Overview. (n.d.). CCS, [online] pp.1-2. Available at: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/course/is4800sp12/resources/qualmethods.pdf [Accessed 1 Mar. 2016].
Sukamolson, S. (n.d.). Fundamentals of quantitative research. Chulalongkorn University. [online] Available at: http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/Research/e-Journal/bod/Suphat%20Sukamolson.pdf [Accessed 1 Mar. 2016].
