Service quality and customer satisfaction: The moderating effects of hotel star rating

This research contributes to customer satisfaction knowledge with regard to accommodation in South Africa whose star grading differs. A multi-group analysis and an importance-performance map analysis by means of PLS-SEM allow us to differentiate between service quality performance scores and their influences on customer satisfaction across accommodation with a different star grading. The two most important predictors of satisfaction with one-star and two-star category accommodation are the accommodation infrastructure and the employee expertise. Both predictors were found to have relatively low levels of performance. Safety and security and room quality are two significant determinants of satisfaction with three-star establishments, although they under-perform with regard to safety and security. In respect of four-star and five-star accommodation, waiting time and customer interaction, both of which have an above average performance scores, influence customer satisfaction. We provide specific guidelines for managerial interventions to improve service quality and guests’ satisfaction for each grading category

A Systematic Review of Lean Implementation Frameworks and Roadmaps: Lessons Learned the Way Forward

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to carry out a comprehensive systematic review of Lean implementation frameworks and roadmaps developed over the past decade and report the key findings along with the limitations and the way forward. Methodology: A systematic review methodology proposed by Tranfield (2003) was followed to identify the relevant works on the research topic. Articles were searched using a set of inclusion criteria in various databases including Google Scholar, Web of Science and Science Direct over a period of thirty years. Findings: The high failure rate of Lean system implementation, reaching a range between 70-90% in almost all industries, is a matter of concern. This failure rate is still high even though numerous frameworks and roadmap models exist to streamline Lean implementation. There is no standard framework or roadmap identified in the literature and many organisations are implementing lean in their unique ways. However it would be desirable to develop a practical and systematic roadmap on Lean looking into the cultural and leadership dimensions rather than focusing on a set of tools. Moreover, most frameworks and roadmaps lack the sustianance aspects of Lean implementation. Limitation: This research only identifies the fundamental gaps with the existing frameworks and roadmaps on lean implementation. The next phase of the research is to develop a roadmap and validate it with a number of organisations in different cultural contexts and leadership styles. Originality: The authors argue that this is one of the most comprehensive systematic review on lean frameworks and roadmaps ever produced in the literature to date