<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<bold>Aim/purpose</bold> – The main objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty and the moderating effect of positive word-of-mouth on this relationship in the hospitality sector, in North Central Nigeria.
<bold>Design/methodology/approach</bold> – The research adopted a quantitative technique. Data were collected through a survey technique and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0 was used for descriptive analysis. Then SmartPLS 3.3.7 was employed to examine relations between service quality, customer loyalty, and positive word-of-moth.
<bold>Findings</bold> – The current study confirmed that service quality had a significant positive relationship with customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth moderates the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty.
<bold>Research implications/limitations</bold> – The current study looked at the moderating effect of positive word-of-mouth on the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in relation to the hospitality sector in North Central Nigeria.
<bold>Originality/value/contribution</bold> – Examination of the moderating role of positive word- -of-mouth in this study has aided to fit into the literature gap.
</abstract>

Aim/purpose – The main objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty and the moderating effect of positive word-of-mouth on this relationship in the hospitality sector, in North Central Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted a quantitative technique. Data were collected through a survey technique and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0 was used for descriptive analysis. Then SmartPLS 3.3.7 was employed to examine relations between service quality, customer loyalty, and positive word-of-moth.
Findings – The current study confirmed that service quality had a significant positive relationship with customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth moderates the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty.
Research implications/limitations – The current study looked at the moderating effect of positive word-of-mouth on the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in relation to the hospitality sector in North Central Nigeria.
Originality/value/contribution – Examination of the moderating role of positive word- -of-mouth in this study has aided to fit into the literature gap.

The moderating effect of positive word-of-mouth between service quality and customer loyalty in the hospitality sector: A PLS-SEM approach

Department of Business Administration & Management

Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Science

Journal of Economics and Management

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Aim/purpose – The main objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty and the moderating effect of...

The moderating effect of positive word-of-mouth between service quality and customer loyalty in the hospitality sector: A PLS-SEM approach

Published Online: Aug 02, 2022

Page range: 266 - 285

Received: Nov 07, 2021

Accepted: Jun 28, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22367/jem.2022.44.11

Keywords
service quality, customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, hospitality, PLS-SEM

© 2022 Silas Gontur et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The moderating effect of positive word-of-mouth between service quality and customer loyalty in the hospitality sector: A PLS-SEM approach

Published Online: Aug 02, 2022

Page range: 266 - 285

Received: Nov 07, 2021

Accepted: Jun 28, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22367/jem.2022.44.11

Keywordsservice quality, customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, hospitality, PLS-SEM

© 2022 Silas Gontur et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Keywords
service quality, customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, hospitality, PLS-SEM