Passengers’ Perceptions of Chinese Airlines’ Service Quality: A Mixed Methods Analysis of User-generated Content

ABSTRACT

This study examined passengers’ perceptions of the main Chinese airlines’ service quality based on user-generated content (i.e., quantitative ratings and narratives shared online), as well as investigating whether market segmentation can be based on traveler type. Text reviews and the associated ratings of service attributes, overall satisfaction, and intention to recommend were gathered from the Skytrax website for four top Chinese airlines. The research relied on mixed methods, namely, econometric modeling (i.e., multiple and logistic regression) and mixed context analysis. The most influential variable in terms of explaining overall satisfaction and intent to recommend is value for money. Different traveler types are homogeneous in their ratings of the most important attributes, but market segmentation can be based on other variables. The content analysis revealed seven main themes: recommendation, core service, seat comfort, food and beverages, ground service, value for money, and in-flight entertainment. The results contribute to the literature by clarifying service quality attributes’ impacts on intention to recommend and overall satisfaction among different traveler types. Analysis of specific user-generated content segments also provided a deeper understanding of the key concepts passengers use to describe their experiences and of differences according to airline reviewers’ origin (i.e., Western and Eastern).

摘要

本研究对中国主要航空公司服务质量的旅客评价 (UGC, 网上评价与评分) 进行分析, 并研究了通过旅客分类进行市场细分的可行性。本研究数据来源为Skytrax网站上旅客对中国四大航空公司服务质量的文字评论, 以及对相关服务子项的评分, 整体满意度评分和旅客推荐意愿。主要研究方法为混合分析法, 即计量分析法建模 (多元回归和逻辑回归) 和混合内容分析法。在解释整体满意度与旅客推荐意愿方面, 性价比这一变量的影响最为显著。不同旅客分类中, 影响最显著的子项是相同的, 但市场细分可基于其他子项。内容分析揭示了七个主题:推荐度, 核心服务, 座椅舒适度, 机上餐食, 地面服务, 性价比和机上娱乐。研究结果有助于丰富不同旅客细分中服务质量子项对旅客推荐意愿和整体满意度影响的研究文献。针对特定旅客评价内容分析有助于更深入的认识旅客描述体验的关键概念, 以及不同评论者来源国 (东方或西方国家) 的差异

KEYWORDS:

• Service quality
• user-generated content
• intention to recommend
• Chinese airlines
• market segmentation

关键词:

• 服务质量
• 用户生成内容
• 推荐意愿
• 中国航空公司
• 市场细分

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ana Brochado

Ana Brochado is Professor of Management at the ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and a researcher at DINAMIA’CET-ISCTE - Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial Studies, Lisboa, Portugal. Her main research interests are economics & business.

Margarida Duarte

Margarida Duarte is Associate Professor of Marketing and Strategy at ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal. Her work focuses on consumer behavior and brand management.

Zhao Mengyuan

Zhao Mengyuan is a graduate student at ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics & Management, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal. Marketing, social media, and airport management are among her study interests.