Is Kano's Model Outdated or Still Essential for Understanding Customer Needs in an Era of Unlimited Choice?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18089/Keywords:
Current Guest, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Segmentation, Kano's Model, Service QualityAbstract
A vast supply of products and services can confuse customers, masking their needs and complicating efforts to satisfy them. Kano’s model suggests that customers lack clear awareness of their requirements. This study, based on a novel explanation of the interlinearity of quality attributes and its disruption, explores the applicability of Kano's model in measuring today’s customer satisfaction. It examines the impact of digitisation on guest satisfaction. Analysing 310 hotel guests in Slovakia during the winter season of 2023/2024, the study identifies quality attributes revealing insights into how selected dimensions affect satisfaction. A two-step cluster analysis reveals four distinct customer segments with unique expectations, highlighting the need for tailored services. Findings indicate that while digital technologies help address staff shortages, they do not enhance guest satisfaction rather, the opposite. The study offers recommendations for hoteliers seeking to improve service quality and technological integration. It bridges Kano’s theoretical foundations with practical relevance in the contemporary context, suggesting future research directions for the evolving relationship among customer satisfaction, digitisation, and service quality.
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