EFFECTS OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY ON E-SERVICE QUALITY: A CASE STUDY OF

SELECTED HOSPITALITY FIRMS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

PRESENTED BY ERIC KABUKURU WANG’OMBE

SUPERVISED BY MR. JAMES KAMWEA (LECTURER MOI UNIVERSITY)

 BHM/03/13

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

• Mobile technology is the technology used for cellular communication.

• E-service quality can be defined as overall customer evaluations and judgments regarding the excellence and quality of e-service delivery in the virtual marketplace (Lee and Lin, 2005).

• Hilton Worldwide has taken advantage of this by offering guests the ability to check in and out, select their room, check maps and make extra requests or purchases all from their smartphones. (Phil, 2015).

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Mobile technologies are developing rapidly, so it would not be wise to ignore them. Unfortunately, many hospitality managers are not aware of all the opportunities mobile technologies present for enhancing guest engagement, improving their satisfaction and increasing their spending.

• Very few hotels in Kenya have realized and utilized this vital technological advancement. As a result very minimal content exists about hotels in Kenya that are utilizing this technology. Therefore, there exists a gap in the industry about the importance of application of mobile technology and how it can be done in the hotel, which needs to be met timely.

• Despite the various efforts put by hotel establishment there still exists a very wide gap between what has been achieved through mobile technology in e-service quality and what could potentially be applied to attain the best from mobile technology.

PURPOSE ,OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

• The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of mobile technology on e-service quality among selected hospitality firms in Nairobi County, Kenya.

• Research objectives- To assess how mobile websites affect e-service quality, to examine how native mobile applications influence e-service quality and to find out the challenges faced in implementing the use of mobile technology in hospitality firms in Kenya.

• Scope of the study-The researcher focused on mobile websites, mobile applications, challenges faced in implementing the use of mobile technology and how these mobile technology aspects affect e-service quality in the selected hospitality firms.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKIndependent Variables

Dependent Variable

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

Figure 1.1: Conceptual framework

Mobile Websites

Mobile Usability Mobile Search Engine

Optimization Responsive web design Mobile Content

E-Service Quality

Customer Satisfaction Customer Loyalty Customer Experience Competitiveness

Native Mobile Applications

Accessibility Reviews and Social Media Application Usability Application Design

Challenges

Privacy Insecurity Lack of Integration with other

systems

Area of study It was conducted in Nairobi City in Nairobi County, Kenya

Research Design Descriptive research designTarget population (400) Customers, (6) Managers*-Key InformantsSample size (40) Customers, (6) Managers*-Key InformantsSampling Procedures • Purposive Sampling-Nairobi City.

• Purposive Sampling-Hellofood, Ole Sereni Hotel and Jacaranda Hotel.

• Purposive Sampling-Managers in Marketing and IT Departments.

• Purposive sampling - Customers using mobile technology.

Data sources and types Primary and Secondary DataData collection instruments Online Questionnaires and Interview Schedules

Testing for validity Researcher used a pilot study in Hotel Horizon, Eldoret, Kenya.

Data Analysis Descriptive Statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (S.P.S.S) and Ms-Excel

Data Presentation Bar Graphs and Pie Charts

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Do mobile websites affect e-service quality?

Effect of mobile websites on e-service quality

Do native mobile applications affect e-service quality?

The effect of native mobile applications on e-service quality

E-service quality

Challenges faced in implementing the use of mobile technology

• Privacy- A majority of the managers who were interviewed did not see privacy

as a challenge when implementing mobile technology. They indicated that the

customer is more concerned about the delivery of service and as such it is an

unconscious to the customers.

• Security- From the interviews results, the managers from the hotels indicated

that security was a challenge to customers and it they emphasized that

inadequate security measures had been put in place to counter issues to do with

cyber-attacks.

• Integration with other systems- They emphasized that the technology is

incompatible with the main hotel systems like property management systems

and financial management systems as such does not benefit operations entirely.

Conclusion

• From the discussion, it is clear that mobile technology does affect e-service quality in the situation of the hospitality industry in Kenya.

• The information acquired from the interviews also clearly established that mobile websites improve access, are easy to use, enhance the visibility of organizations and supports the interactivity with both institutional and individual customers.

• Managerially, n customer satisfaction, managers should assess a customer’s overall judgment that a product or service provided (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-that gives fulfillment.

• For customer experience, customers receive what they thought they ordered based on the display and description provided on the website; and/or delivery of the right product at the right price (i.e., billed correctly) in good condition within the time frame promised.

• Mobile technology yet to be fully embraced by the hospitality and this means that the first adopters will be more advantaged in their service offering.

• Overall, the measures of e-service quality work in synchrony.• The challenges identified in implementing the use of mobile technology in the hospitality sector in the

selected hospitality firms were insecurity, integration, timing and adaptability, creating awareness, reliability and costs of maintaining the technology.

• The solutions identified were the use of social media and search engine optimization marketing to create awareness, adapting to the different trends and times and integration of mobile technology with hospitality systems by developers.

RECOMMENDATIONSIntegration of mobile technologyFurther research and development needs to be done on mobile technology in relation to the hospitality systems like property management systems and catering systems.

Embracement of mobile paymentsWith the significant increase in mobile commerce, it is upon hospitality firms to embrace mobile payments as this increase will increase numerous benefits in terms of customer relationship management, higher sales, convenience and ease of use. Here in Kenya, hotels should offer services like Lipa Na MPESA that is offered by Safaricom.

Creation of awareness on the use of mobile technologyHospitality firms should undertake aggressive marketing to create awareness on the introduction of mobile technology so as to increase receivership in the market and therefore reap the benefits that come with embracing mobile technology.

Use of push notificationsThe use of push notifications in mobile devices enables easier communication between the customer and the firm. They can be used to inform guests quickly on available promotions. However, one should aim to be as relevant as possible.

Implement analytics in mobile technologyThis will enable hospitality firms to better understand their customers and thus accelerate mobile app delivery and improve end-user experience. This will in the long run enable better decision making in the organizations

SAMPLE ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE

THE END, THANK YOU FOR LISTENING