Service Quality and Value: An Examination of International Summer Students' Perception of Tourism Services in Shanghai

Lilian Consuelo Mustelier-Puig; Xu Ming

Lilian Consuelo Mustelier-Puig Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, China.
Xu Ming Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, China.

Keywords: Service Quality, Service Value, International Students, Service Encounter, Tourism Services.

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to examine international summer language students' perceptions of tourism services in Shanghai. To achieve this purpose, the study tests the direct and indirect influence of Chinese employees' expertise, language, and nonverbal cues on international students' perception of service quality and service value, respectively. Besides the direct link between service quality and service value. The indicators used to measure the constructs were identified through the literature review. Collected data were analyzed by partial least square. The findings showed that employees' language does not always affect customers' perception of tourism services. On the contrary, employees' expertise and nonverbal cues displayed exert a significant impact on service quality and service value. Additionally, the inseparable link between quality and value was confirmed. Nevertheless, the study did not assess the direct effect of employees' expertise, nonverbal cues, and language on service value, which authors recommend for further research. Tourism service managers should design intercultural training programs to increase employees' cultural awareness and service quality-related knowledge. Reinforcing customer-facing sales' intercultural competencies and interpersonal skills may increase tourists' perceptions of the service provider. The present research is an effort to widen the scope of the existent research on international students in China, which has mostly focused on intercultural aspects within educational institutions.

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