Proceedings of 32nd International Business Research Conference
23 - 25 November, 2015, Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne, Australia, ISBN: 978-1-922069-89-4
Intercultural Service Encounters in Vietnam
Thuy-Huong Truong
Using the SERVQUAL instrument (Parasuraman et al., 1988), this study
investigates the evaluation of service quality in the context of Vietnam as a
holiday destination. It examines the differences between cultural values
exhibited by American visitors and Vietnamese service providers. It
investigates how the cultural values of American visitors will impact on their
perceptions of Vietnamese service providers’ attributes and performance.
The major questions addressed are: what are the major dimensions of
service provision as seen by customers and service providers? Are there
differences in the perceptions between customers and providers based on
their cultural values? These questions are answered by the Principal
Components analysis. The emphasis in the Principal Component Analysis
on the distinct cultural values exhibited by visitors and service providers
provides an enhanced understanding of cross-cultural tourist-host
perceptions about service quality. By investigating tourism service quality
and holiday perception from a cross-cultural perspective, the researchers
were able to identify which different theoretical vantage points provide
greatest insight.
The research has both practical and academic significance. From the
theoretical perspective, this study provides an enhancing understanding of
Rokeach’s Value Survey (Rokeach, 1973) on cultural values. This
instrument has previously been applied in the field of sociology, psychology
and marketing. In the present case, it is used to measure hosts-guests
cross-cultural perceptions on the service quality and encounter and the
associated insights should be useful for tourism researchers. The
implications for tourism industry management destination and marketers
are presented.
Keywords: Cultural values, Service Encounter, Vietnamese Service Providers American
Travellers.
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Dr Thuy-Huong Truong, College of Business, Victoria University, Australia,
Email: Thuy-Huong.Truong@vu.edu.au