Keeping or Breaching the Promise: A closer look into the “blind spots” of hospitality industry servicescapes
(A2026-134087)

AUTHORS

MARKOS TSOGAS, University of Piraeus; Kalipso Karantinou, Athens University of Economics & Business; Marina Kyriakou, University of Piraeus; Maria Psimouli, ACG; Athanasios Gkaintatzis, Athens University of Economics and Business; Katerina Papakonstantinou, University of Piraeus

ABSTRACT

The present study sets off to explore a less visible part of hospitality industry servicescapes, and more specifically the employees’ perceptual discrepancy between their working and living conditions. Taking the affordance theory perspective and in accordance with the co-creational nature of servicescapes, we try to understand whether and how this discrepancy is reflected on both employees’ and customers’ satisfaction. Combining a large-scale survey among employees of six hotels at a popular Greek island destination, with the customers’ satisfaction levels as reported through online reviews, our research findings not only confirm the discrepancy’s existence, but also reveal it as a key antecedent of customers’ satisfaction, mediated by the employees’ satisfaction. Thus, the hidden spots of hospitality industry servicescapes emerge as a pivotal factor of competitiveness for both employees and visitors/guests.