12th APacCHRIE Conference 2014
Perceptions of Malaysian hotel managers: The relationship between hotel branding and national culture values Fanggy T. Sumacoa,*, Kashif Hussaina, Brian C. Imrieb a Taylor's University, 47500 Subang Jaya,Malaysia Sunway University Business School, 47500 Subang Jaya,Malaysia
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Abstract The purpose of this paper is to report the development and empirical testing of a 16-item scale supporting the relationship between hotel branding and national culture values. There was extensive evidence of culture’s influence upon corporate service branding evaluation, whereby cultural characteristics affect brand equity. Three dimensions that fit into the framework by using exploratory factory analysis are brand tangible, brand culture, and brand attachment. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on cultural influence on corporate service branding with particular reference to the hospitality industry in Malaysia. Keywords: hotel; service; branding; framework; national culture values.
1. Introduction This study focuses on the hotel industry’s brand management. The development of branding has moved the term ‘branding’ beyond its traditional function. Nowadays, a brand represents a company and a personality rather than just a product (Knox & Bickerton, 2003). Therefore, the term ‘corporate branding’ and its perspective are used in this study. Additionally, since the hotel industry falls under the category of the service sector, this study attempts to look at the issue of branding from a service angle. Hence, the concept of service branding is also incorporated in this research (Brodie, Whittome & Brush, 2009; de Chernatony & Segal-Horn, 2003). Finally, there are studies that rationalize the influence of culture in business and marketing. Some of the examples are the influence of culture in the area of innovation (Haapaniemi & Mȁkinen, 2009; Hsu, Hsu & Yeh, 2010; Lynn & Gelb, 1996; Roehrich, 2004; Steenkamp, Hofstede & Wedel, 1999), service performance (Birgelen, Ruyter, Jong, & Wetzels, 2002), service quality (Imrie, Cadogan & McNaughton, 2002), service dimension (Cunningham, Young, Lee & Ulaga, 2006), consumer buying behavior (Aykaz, 2012), market segmentation (Bruning, Hu, & Hao, 2009), information exchange behavior (Dawar, Parker & Price, 1996), gender role on decision processes (Kim, Di Benedetto & Lancioni, 2011), brand quality (Agrawal, Grimm, Kamath, & Foscht, 2011), and advertising appeals (Albers-Miller & Gelb, 1996). However, there is no study on the influence of culture on branding as a construct. Hence, this study attempted to explore the role of Malaysian cultural values in corporate service branding construct for hotel industry. 2. Literature review Before embarking on the research, it is necessary to consider where the research problem sits with regards to the existing literature. This chapter builds a theoretical foundation upon which the research is based by discussing three parent disciplines – Branding, Service and Culture. These parent disciplines serve as the framework to identify the gaps which the immediate discipline, Corporate Service Branding, could address. This section presents a summary
* Corresponding author: Fanggy T. Sumaco. E-mail address:
[email protected] Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of 12th APacCHRIE Conference 2014.
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of the theoretical framework for the research agenda as follows: (1) to establish where this study sits in relation to relevant key bodies of literature; and (2) to establish the significance of the research gap addressed. 2.1. Branding The American Marketing Association defines a brand as “a name, term, design, logo, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or service as distinct from those of other seller’s” (American Marketing Association, 1995). While, the French writer Jean-Noel Kapferer (1992) presents a totally different angle on the same phenomenon. He talks of brands in terms of creating an exclusive, positive and prominent meaning in the minds of a large number of consumers. “A brand is a shared desirable and exclusive idea embodied in products, services, places and/or experiences. The more this idea is shared by a larger number of people, the more power the brand has” (Kapferer, 1992, p.13). After being studied over fifty years (Berthon, Pitt, Chakrabarti, Berthon, & Simon, 2011), the fundamental function of a brand in terms of distinguishing the goods or services from one producer to another has remained unaltered: communicating identity. Tens of thousands of studies on brands have been published, however, the concept of branding still continues to be a strong topic of discussion. Brands exist across all industries, ranging from product branding to services branding. The development of branding over the past three decades is characterized by layers of added value built around the core functionality of the product to create and maintain its characteristic. However, most literature is conceptual in nature (Knox & Bickerton, 2003). The industry needs a concrete framework to act on the concept. Corporations spend large sums of capital to generate names, developing visual identities and designing packaging, all of which can be a valuable means of suggesting what customers can expect from them. People buy a product because they have an idea of what to expect, especially those derived from marketing efforts (Gregory, 2004). There are multiple benefits from building a strong brand. The benefits are measured as brand equity. Brand equity originally became popular as a financially-oriented term that emerged when many brand-owning companies were bought and sold for a certain value that was remarkably more than the value in the accounting book (Riezebos et al., 2003). Later, this concept is broadening with the addition of new elements (i.e. brand awareness, brand image, and perceived quality) as the measurement of consumer-based brand equity (Aaker, 2010; Bailey & Ball, 2006; Kim, Jin & Kim, 2008; Li, Gu & Yang, 2010; Veloutson & Christodoulides, 2011). Over recent decades, branding has moved beyond a sole focus on product and service branding to branding organizations as a total package. Reflecting this development, extensive literature has been developed around the corporate branding concept (e.g. Balmer, 2001; Balmer & Greyser, 2002; de Chernatony, 1999; Harris & de Chernatony, 2001; Hatch & Schultz, 2003; Keller & Richey, 2006; King, 1991; Knox & Bickerton, 2003). In corporate branding, brand reputation serves as a company’s covenant with key stakeholders. Knox and Bickerton (2003) suggest that corporate branding draws on the traditions of product branding and it shares the same objective of creating differentiation and preference. However, this activity is more complex at the level of the organization due to vast areas to cover. Corporate branding deals with branding issues from the inside out. As a lot of work on corporate branding has been conceptual, Knox and Bickerton (2003) argue that there has been only limited empirical investigation of the processes that enable an organization to engage successfully in corporate brand management. They propose that establishing successful corporate brand management practices rely on the identification of two factors which are, the mix of variables that comprise the corporate brand and the development of a brand management system. The hotel industry has adopted corporate branding as its strategy. Current studies in hotel branding cover areas such as internal branding and the different corporate strategies adopted by hotel companies, especially for expansion (Bouncken, Pick, & Hipp, 2005). 2.2. Service The generally accepted definition is that “services are activities, benefits or satisfactions which are offered for sale, or are provided in connection with the sale of goods” (American Marketing Association, 1995). In addition to the intangible nature of services, there has been an understanding that inseparability, variability, and perishability
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also play a fundamental role in describing the essence of a service (Calisir, 2007; Heiskala, Hiekkanen & Korhonen, 2011; Lovelock, Patterson & Walker, 2001; Rust & Thompson, 2006). Discussion in relation to service as a parent discipline focuses upon a review of the Service Dominant Logic conceptualization. Vargo and Lusch (2004) recommend a radical reformulation of marketing rationale away from a goods-centered or manufacturing-based model of economic exchange to what they describe as Service Dominant Logic. In this particular logic, service is defined as “the application of specialized competences (knowledge and skills) through deeds, processes, and performances for the benefit of another entity or the entity itself” (Vargo & Lusch, 2004, p.2). They suggest to view service an independent entity. Moreover, along with this new definition, they propose that all enterprises are actually in the business of providing services, whereby goods are only the means of transmitting services to the customers. Since the introduction of Service Dominant Logic by Vargo and Lusch (2004), marketers have gradually accepted that the environment in which they are competing in is dominated by services. The Service Dominant Economy challenges the product-centric nature of the traditional branding concept. Services are somewhat different from goods because of their unique characteristics. Therefore, services require a different marketing approach. There is an emerging stream of research about branding, which aligns with the Service Dominant Logic, that focuses on the value-adding processes leading to the creation of customer experiences (Berry, 2000; de Chernatony & Segal-Horn, 2003). Within this perspective, the brand plays a broader role where its intersection is not just with end customers, but is with the company, its employees, and a network of stakeholders. 2.3. Culture The researcher adopts the perspectives of Geert Hofstede (1993) to explore culture. Hofstede defines culture as “collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group or category of people from another” (Hofstede, 1993, p.89) and presents the core element in culture as values. Hofstede uses a broad approach by defining values as “a broad tendency to prefer certain states of affairs over others” (Hofstede, 2001, p. 5). Hofstede (1984) uses four dimensions to classify national cultures: individualism versus collectivism, power distance, masculinity versus femininity, and uncertainty avoidance. Stauss and Mang (1999) explore the assumption of culture shocks in inter-cultural service encounter. They studied the influence of culture upon the quality of perceived service encounters. Likewise, there is acknowledgment that culture has influence upon consumers’ decision-making process within a consumer behavior context (Kotler, Brown, Adam, Burton, & Amstrong, 2007). If a consumer’s perception and choice of brand were also culturally bound, then guidance is required on how to adapt strategic branding to address these variances in expectations. Consequently, cultural variances in consumer needs within emerging global markets could be one of the challenges in the brand building process. 2.4. The influence of culture in corporate service branding Shocker, Srivastava, and Ruekert (1994) highlight that no single or dominant theoretical framework has emerged to guide research in the area of brand management. To current knowledge, the contribution in the issue of brand management reflects a multitude of viewpoints from cognitive and consumer psychology to information economics (Shocker, Srivastava & Ruekert, 1994). They predict that brands will continue to have value in a competitive marketplace and undoubtedly will continue to exist. Although specific organizational forms may change, brand management will adapt and thrive as managers accept new challenges and improve their competitive ability. Given the diversity of topics covered under the umbrella of brand management, this area of research will continue to borrow from several underlying disciplines for its conceptual and theoretical foundations (Shocker, Srivastava & Ruekert, 1994). Therefore, the development of theory to guide brand management is increasingly necessary and should be integrative. Without a doubt, there are established studies that identify branding as one of the key influencers of a company’s performance (Ailawadi, Lehmann, & Neslin, 2003; Gürbüz, 2008; O’Neill & Mattila, 2004). Despite growing
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presence of brands from emerging countries in international markets, little is known about their strategies (Thomas, 2006). Whitelock and Fastoso (2007) found only forty works referring to international branding from 1975 to 2005. The study of international branding management has been dominated significantly within the aspect of product framework and from the Western cultural perspective. Consequently, at this point in time, little is understood on how the definition, measurement, and specific framework of strategic service branding are influenced by a local setting, which most likely is influenced by culture. A broader understanding of branding also leads to the realization that different settings require different approaches in terms of managing brands. Olsen, Chung, Graf, Lee, and Madanoglu (2004) highlight that there is a lack of uniform understanding of the concept of branding in the international hotel industry. This research makes advances towards addressing the gaps in the literature which is the influence of culture on corporate service branding. In response to the rapid globalization of international trade, there has been a call from researchers to examine the usefulness of the known branding construct within a non-western cultural context (Burgess & Steenkamp, 2006; Cayla & Arnould, 2008; Sheth, 2011; Thirkettle & Korstanje, 2013). Similarly, the increasing amount of study in industry-specific and culture-specific themes indicates the importance of understanding culture in marketing. As the attempt to address the influence of culture on corporate service branding, Malaysia is chosen as the sample population. Therefore, this study not only explores the antecedents of successful corporate service banding, but also explores the Malaysian culture and its influence on the framework. This study attempts to address this main gap in the literature, thus advancing our understanding in the subject matter. 3. Methodology This study was mainly quantitative with survey as the main instrument for data collection. Malaysia has been selected as it is both accessible and cohesive as a cultural unit. Although Malaysia is a relatively heterogeneous ethnic society, it has a set of shared values among the Malaysians. Case selection in this study can therefore be categorized as a non-probability convenience sampling technique (Patton, 2002). This case represents an opportunity to investigate corporate service branding frameworks within a Malaysian context. 3.1. The instrument The instrument used in this study is an instrument designed specifically for this research (Creswell, 2009). Following standard procedures (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994), the researcher based item generation on interviews with experts (Sumaco, Imrie & Hussain, 2014), a review of the relevant branding, service, and national culture values literature streams, which resulted in a 20 scale items intended to capture various aspects of corporate service branding. Three scholars and two managers evaluated the content validity of each item with respect to the definition of corporate service branding. The evaluation was done via interview and online administration of the survey. The number of the items remained the same, however, the wording of the questions have been modified based on their feedback. Their comments have been incorporated into final instrument revision. The questionnaire was labeled as “The Cultural Influence upon Corporate Service Branding Development” and has a total of fifty three questions and ten questions on demographic information. The majority of these were 5points items based on a scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” as proposed by Likert (as cited in Clason & Dormody, 1994). Other questions asked categorical scale and factual information (i.e. demographic information). The first section of the questionnaire touched on the respondents’ view on the attributes of corporate service branding in hotel industry. The respondents were asked to tick three most important attribute from the list. The questions were crafted based on the statements used by the participants in the interviews. In the second section, the respondents were asked to rate the statements related to Malaysian cultural values. The rating was based on 5-point Likert-scale with “1” as “strongly disagree” and “5” as “strongly agree.” Then, the respondents were asked to select a preferred type of manager. The questions in this section were crafted based on the combination of the statements used by the participants in the interviews and the study of Hofstede (1984, 2001). The third section of the questionnaire touched on the respondents’ view on the influence of Malaysian culture to the determinants of corporate service branding in hotel industry. The rating points were also based on 5-point Likert-scale with “1” as
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“strongly disagree” and “5” as “strongly agree.” The four dimensions of the conceptual framework were tested as the independent variables while the dependent variable selected by the researcher was the brand equity. There were twenty items as independent variables and eight items as the dependent variables. The final section of the questionnaire asked the respondents about their demographic information. The cover letter is available at Appendix Four, while the questionnaire is available at Appendix Five. Prior the distribution of the questionnaires, a pilot survey was conducted to test the validity of the questions. The researcher administered these items to a selected group of hoteliers as pilot sample (N = 28) from 10-19 June 2013. The reliability test verified the usefulness of the instruments (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.796). Based on the feedback, some adjustments have been done to ensure convenience of the administration (i.e. the layout of the questionnaire and adding simple description of some jargons). 3.2. Population, sample, and data collection procedure There was no definite number on the total of four and five star hotels in Klang Valley. When contacted, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) suggested the researcher to look in their website for the list of their members. However, the search did not come into a satisfactory conclusion. The researcher then combined the data from the Ministry of Tourism website and from the official website of tourism Malaysia. The final list comprised of eighty one 4 and 5 star properties in lang alley. All of them are potential respondents in the population. Therefore, the researcher made initial effort to contact each and every hotel by sending e-mail invitation to the hotels’ general e-mail addresses, Training Managers, Marketing Communication Department or General Manager Office. However, very few of them have responded. Consequently, the researcher continued the effort by contacting her contacts in the hotel industry. Furthermore, Training Managers and General Managers, who have agreed to participate, assisted in selecting individuals from the company to participate in the study. Thus, the selection of individual was using nonprobability or convenience sampling technique, in which the respondents are chosen based on their convenience and availability (Babbie, 2005). Additionally, purposeful sampling technique was used to ensure that only individuals who fit into specific characteristics participating in the survey. The characteristics used in stratifying the population are nationality and job grade to minimize some possible confounding responses. The respondents have to be Malaysian because the research is about how Malaysians perceive their culture and use it as advantage in branding. The hoteliers are categorized into two groups: management staff and rank and file staff. Generally, the rank and file staff are involved in operation. Most of them have lower education level. Therefore they were excluded from the study due to the possibility they are not able to comprehend the questions thus may not be able to contribute. They also have lower job grade, work in shift and receive daily assignments rather than involve in planning, and they are not exposed to corporate level. Therefore, they might not have the exposure that could benefit this study. Thus, the management staff are perceived as more suitable participants. However, the researcher was unable to ensure other demographic factors (i.e. gender, race, and education) would be in the same proportion as the characteristic appears in the entire population as there was no means for comparison. The survey was available in both physical forms and web-based (online survey available from https drive.google.com ) to provide convenience to the targeted respondents. Web-based survey is selected due to its high response rate compared to other method; 26.27% for mail, 17.0% for fax, and 44.21% for web (Cobanoglu, Warde, & Moreo, 2000). This also supported by a study which finds that a web survey application achieved a comparable response rate to a mail hard copy questionnaire when both were preceded by an advance mail notification (Kaplowitz, Hadlock & Levine, 2004). Thus, the survey was a self-administered questionnaire. In this situation, questionnaire will be sent and returned via e-mail. The survey was cross-sectional whereby the data is collected at one point in time (Creswell, 2009). The data collection was carried out from 24 June 2013 to 17 July 2013. During that period, 229 hoteliers from identified 29 hotels completed the questionnaire providing the study 39.80% sample of the targeted hotel population. The number of participating hotels could be more. The researcher was unable to identify the exact number of participating hotels and the number of respondents from each hotel because more than half of the responses (56.14%) were generated
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from online survey and most of the respondents preferred to keep the hotel names undisclosed. One of the questionnaires was filled up by a foreigner, therefore only 228 completed questionnaires was used for the analysis. 3.3. Quantitative data analysis procedure The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) such as frequency, standard deviation, psychometric properties of the scales (reliability, validity and dimensionality), correlation analysis and regression analysis will be performed as suggested by Hair et al. (2010), Norusis (2008), Nunnally and Bernstein (1994), and Tabachnick and Fidell (2007). This current study comprises of have a series of Likert-type questions that when combined describe a personality trait or attitude. It should be analyzed as Likert-type items. Therefore, modes, medians, and frequencies are the appropriate statistical tools to use. 4. Findings and discussion The respondents were mainly male (60.09%). Approximately, 80% of the respondents in the survey comprise of people with age group of 31 to 50 years old. More than half of the respondents had completed their diploma. However, only 34% of the respondents had completed their degree. More than 40% of the respondents were Malay, followed by Chinese respondents (34%), and Indian respondents (17%) respectively. Although this proportion does not accurately represent the population in Malaysia (whereby the population consists of 60% Malay), the sample is able to illustrate the workforce in hotel industry. The sample shows the increasing number of Chinese and Indian managers in hotel industry. A big proportion of the respondents have been working in hotel industry for more than 10 years (60%), this shows that the sample has sufficient experience and able to make reasonable contribution to this study. Only 9% of the samples were considered as newcomers as they only spent less than 2 years in the hotel industry. However, more than 70% of the respondents have been working for less than 5 years in their current hotels. All respondents were from management level with almost 25% were from top management position (General Managers, Directors, Heads of Department, and so on). However about 13% of the respondents were holding administration duty therefore they did not have direct subordinate. Half of the respondents worked at international hotel chains. One third of the respondents who worked at local hotel chains stated that their companies were independent hotels. More than 75% of the respondents worked at business hotel. This match with geographical location selected for the data collection, which was in Klang Valley. Table 1 shows that most managers have completed diploma level, although some managers who have stayed the longest within the industry only has SPM as their highest qualification. The observed chi-square statistic is 79.811, which is associated with a 0.000% risk of being wrong in rejecting the null hypothesis. Therefore, there is a relationship between the two variables. Nevertheless, it is important to note that those managers with the shortest year of experience possessed higher qualification such as Bachelor’s Degree. Therefore, it can be suggested that the acceptance of higher academic level in the industry that heavily relied on experience has (recently) increased over the time. The composition of the respondents was quite equal where 46.05% were from Front-of-the-House and 43.86% from Back-of-the-House. Therefore, both sides of hotel operation are fairly represented in the sample. Table 1. Education Level and Length of Service in the Industry Length of Service in the Industry Less than 2 years 2-5 years 6-10 years 10-15 years SPM -3.2% 19.5% 3.8% Diploma 10.0% 45.2% 46.3% 69.2% Bachelor’s Degree 41.9% 34.1% 26.9% 85.0% Master’s Degree 5.0% 9.7% --100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Over 15 years 28.6% 53.6% 7.1% 10.7% 100.0%
Table 2 shows that the data collected were all significant, normal and also accurate. The main reason all data were normal, because all data were distributed normally and this cause the Skewness and Kurtosis value is within the cut-off value which is -2 to 2 and -3 to 3 respectively (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). Overall, the managers show
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the tendency to agree with all the sentences. The lowest mean (3.28) was given to “confrontation will make a person appears to be rude” while the highest mean (3.81) was given to “image and appearance are important to affirm one’s status.” Table 2. Definition of Malaysian Culture (n=228) Malaysians tend to be more conservative and would try to avoid confrontation
3.45
Standard Deviation 1.046
Confrontation will make a person appears to be rude
3.28
1.083
-0.452
-0.624
The employees are generally afraid to disagree with their managers
3.40
1.055
-0.186
-1.130
People from lower social status feel uneasy to approach people from higher social status Good relationship is more important than power to get things done
3.65
1.001
-0.668
0.031
3.79
1.127
-0.685
-0.472
Malaysians in managerial positions are typically task-oriented (emphasis on performance and achievement) Malaysians in non-managerial positions are typically people-oriented (emphasis on relationship with others) Image and appearance are important to affirm one’s status
3.53
1.080
-0.524
-0.410
3.39
1.020
-0.505
-0.179
3.81
0.852
-1.222
2.079
Common usage of “We” instead of "I" in the conversation
3.42
1.023
-0.209
-0.614
Having strong perception of social identity whereby dividing the people into “ingroup” (us) and “outgroup” (them) Malaysians generally like to help others by being “kay poh” (nosey / busybody) in other people’s business therefore neglecting their own priorities Procrastination is generally tolerated in the society
3.53
0.771
-0.409
0.000
3.39
1.074
-0.496
-0.451
3.39
1.015
-0.450
-0.838
Attributes
Mean
Skewness
Kurtosis
-0.442
-0.553
Table 3. Preferred Type of Manager (n=228) PM1 PM2 PM3 PM4
Manager that makes his/her decision promptly, communicates the decision to his/her subordinates clearly and firmly, and expects the subordinates to carry out that decision loyally without raising difficulties. Manager that makes his/her decision promptly but before going ahead tries to explain that decision fully to his/her subordinates, gives them the reasons for the decision, and answers questions they may have. Manager that consults with his/her subordinates before reaching his/her decisions, listens to their advice, considers it, and then announces the decision. He/she then expects the team to work loyally to implement the decision whether or not it is in accordance with the advice they gave. Manager that calls a meeting with the subordinates when there is an important decision to be made, puts the problems before the group, invites discussions, and then accepts majority viewpoint as the decision.
F 29
F% 12.72%
50
21.93%
105
46.05%
44
19.30%
Table 3 shows that the respondents favor consultative type of manager. The illustration of the relationship between preferred type of manager and demographic characteristics is apparent in the age group. While most of the respondents prefer consultative type of manager, respondents from age group 51 and above seemed to show preference for manager who accepts majority viewpoint as the final decision. On the other hand, the chi-square test supports that there is a relationship between gender and preferred type of manager (the observed chi-square statistic is 9.237) and also between cultural group and preferred type of manager (the observed chi-square statistic is 22.860). Nevertheless, there is no relationship between age and preferred type of manager (the observed chi-square statistic is 15.543) and between education level and preferred type of manager (the observed chi-square statistic is 15.001). Alternatively, a cross tabulation exercise between preferred type of manager and department in the hotel suggests that certain departments have difference preference from the majority. Human Resources and Engineering departments show preference for manager who accepts majority viewpoint as the final decision. Information Technology and Security departments show preference for manager who makes his/her decision promptly and tries to explain that decision fully to his/her subordinates. Kitchen department shows preference for manager who simply makes his/her decision promptly, communicates the decision to his/her subordinates clearly and firmly. This variance could be influenced by the nature of the work of each department.
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Table 4 shows that all twenty eight items are significant, normal, and also accurate. The main reason all data were normal, because all data were distributed normally and this cause the Skewness and Kurtosis value is within the cut-off value which is -2 to 2 and -3 to 3 respectively (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). Overall, the managers show the tendency to agree with all the sentences; except for BE06 “I will hesitate to change my job to another hotel company.” The lowest mean (2.91) was given to this particular question. Besides that item, the lowest mean (3.29) was given to “The number of room or properties is relevant to positive brand image” while the highest mean (4.42) was given to “The activities that help employees to understand their contribution to the success of the hotel will eventually improve employees’ commitment in service.” Table 4. Corporate Service Branding Construct (n=228) Attributes TP01: It is important to have the elements of Malaysian culture in the hotel product TP02: Hotel lobby needs to be outstanding to create positive brand image TP03: The usage of latest technology is relevant to positive brand image TP04: Choice of location is important to reaffirm the status of the hotel guests BS01: The number of rooms or properties is relevant to positive brand image BS02: Market trust is equal to the number of years that a brand has been established BS03: The internal communication of brand identity is as important as the external corporate communication BS04: A larger company is a more desirable place to work rather than a smaller company SC01: Our ‘Malaysian hospitality’ makes us natural providers for service SC02: Leadership has impact upon employees’ service attitude SC03: Recognition and material rewards for work achievement are crucial to maintain employees’ commitment in service SC04: The provision of trainings is the responsibility of the hotel and its managers SC05: The managers should have the commitment to develop the people with sufficient resources for training SC07: A detailed SOP is more desirable than broad guidelines to achieve work effectiveness SC08: A strict supervision is required to achieve work effectiveness SC06: The activities that help employees to understand their contribution to the success of the hotel will eventually improve employees’ commitment in service BA01: The employees of the hotel strive to be known for their friendliness, sincerity, and genuine care for the guests instead of simply being efficient and effective BA02: The guests come back to the hotel because of the employees and the service they provided, instead of the physical features of the hotel BA03: It is essential that the services provided in the hotel are personalized to reaffirm important status of the guests BA04: Return guests are treated with special treatments BE01: When people hear our name or see our logo, they instantly recognize it BE02: When people think about our brand, they think about quality of service BE03: When people think about our brand, they think about prestige BE04: Our brand comes first in customers’ mind during information seeking process BE05: Our brand is able to set premium rate for its products BE06: I will hesitate to change my job to another company BE07: I would personally recommend a friend / relative to work for this hotel brand BE08: I would personally recommend a friend / relative to stay at this hotel brand
Mean 3.78 3.88** 4.15** 3.77 3.29** 3.67 4.06**
SD 1.137 1.078 0.788 1.011 1.097 0.976 0.835
Skewness -0.766 -0.933 -1.088 -0.999 -0.322 -0.532 -0.703
Kurtosis -0.245 0.216 1.684 0.675 -0.874 -0.474 0.058
3.59** 3.71 4.20** 4.25
1.014 1.030 0.871 0.882
-0.510 -1.005 -1.081 -1.482
-0.116 0.892 0.668 2.548
4.20 4.33
0.857 0.728
-1.375 -1.150
2.730 2.040
3.93 3.33 4.42
1.006 1.143 0.701
-0.766 -0.200 -1.341
0.100 -0.988 2.749
4.01
0.847
-0.639
0.325
4.05
0.806
-0.504
-0.056
4.16
0.712
-0.542
0.542
4.19 4.04 4.02 3.78 3.62 3.77 2.91** 3.78 4.05
0.765 0.817 0.865 0.965 0.943 0.861 1.035 1.000 0.825
-0.930 -1.108 -1.104 -0.664 -0.283 -0.964 0.066 -0.987 -1.230
1.276 2.258 1.908 0.285 -0.244 1.517 -0.442 0.980 2.966
A series of stringent tests were undertaken for the issue of reliability and dimensionality. Specifically, exploratory factor analysis was employed to provide support for the issue dimensionality of the instrument. Table 5 indicates a reasonable fit of 4-factor model to the data on the basis of a number of statistical analyses. In the initial prediction, there were four independent variables (tangibles, brand strength, service culture, and brand attachment) and one dependent variable (brand equity) with a total of twenty eight items. However, Exploratory Factor Analysis has eliminated twelve items from the questionnaire because they have very low factor loading thus could not fit into the model. Therefore, only sixteen items left in the questionnaire. Additionally, three out of four items under brand strength dimension were eliminated and the remaining one variable (BS03: The internal corporate communication of
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brand identity is as important as the external corporate communication) was loaded into service culture dimension. After much consideration, the researcher decided to keep BS03 and revised the model into three independent variables (brand tangibles, brand culture, and brand attachment) and one dependent variable (brand equity). Brand communication is part of service culture because culture could not be developed without proper internal and external communication (Hatch & Schultz, 2008). However, the label of the dimension needs to be changed to reflect all items, including the new added item to the dimension. Therefore, Brand Culture would be a better fit label. Table 5. Exploratory Factor Analysis Results (with forcing into 4 dimensions) Variables and Items Eigenvalues % Variance
% Cumulative
Brand Tangibles 0.716 4.478 4.478 TP02: Hotel lobby needs to be outstanding to create positive brand image TP03: The usage of latest technology is relevant to positive brand image Brand Culture 4.990 31.186 35.664 SC05: The managers should have the commitment to develop the people with sufficient resources for training (time and budget) SC04: The provision of trainings is the responsibility of the hotel and its managers BS03: The internal corporate communication of brand identity is as important as the external corporate communication SC06: The activities that help employees to understand their contribution to the success of the hotel will eventually improve employees’ commitment in service SC02: Leadership has impact upon employees’ service attitude Brand Attachment 1.833 11.454 47.118 BA03: It is essential that the services provided in the hotel are personalized to reaffirm important status of the guests BA04: Return guests are treated with privileges and special treatments BA02: The guests come back to the hotel because of the employees and the service they provided, instead of the physical features of the hotel Brand Equity 1.473 9.209 56.327 BE02: When people think about our brand, they think about quality of service BE03: When people think about our brand, they think about prestige BE01: When people hear our name or see our logo, they instantly recognize it BE04: Our brand comes first in customers’ mind during information seeking process BE05: Our brand is able to set premium rate for its products BE07: I would personally recommend a friend / relative to work for this hotel brand Notes: KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy) 0.818 Bartlett's Test of Sphericity 1726.016 p
