The Moderating Effect of Environmental Practices on the Relationship Between Service Quality and Customer Experience in the Hotel Industry

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study aims to investigate the moderating variable of environmental practice on the relationship between service quality and the customer experience in the hotel industry in Malaysia. The profound effect of environmental practices among hoteliers across the globe that have positive links to hotel guests’ preferences on accommodation choices has been documented. The influence of service quality has been long known in literature to have a profound effect on hotel guest experiences. Yet, This paper presented the result of a survey of 300 hotel guests that was recently carried out in four and five-star rated hotels in Malaysia. A variance based of structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), a component-based structural equation modeling, using SmartPLS version 4, was used to estimate the interaction effect of the moderating variable of environmental practices on the link between the endogenous variable of service quality and exgoneoeus variable of customer experiences. A structural model was then put forward with its respective measurement models along with the indicators that were newly developed. The result shown that environmental practices have a significant moderating effect at ρ<0.05 suggested of positive indications to increase of occupancy growth percentage. Practical implications were further discussed and for hoteliers that have not done so are ought to incorporate the importance of green practices.