The perception of customer-centric culture in Brazilian lodging establishments

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29147/revhosp.v22.1191

Keywords:

customer centricity, hospitality, customer orientation, technology, competitive advantage

Abstract

The hotel industry has shifted its focus from the product/service to a customer-centric activity, seeking to potentially increase satisfaction, loyalty, competitiveness, revenue, etc., bringing benefits to all those involved in the process. Seeking to investigate this phenomenon, this research proposes a model for analyzing the perception of customer-centric culture in lodging establishments, based on dimensions from the literature: customer-oriented culture, attitude, use of technology in relationship management, competitive advantage and organizational performance. Data was collected using a questionnaire with a Likert scale of agreement and secondary data. The model was evaluated on 127 respondents from 47 lodging establishments in Brazil. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used for the analysis. The results show a significant positive effect of attitude and technology on customer-oriented culture and that achieving advantage with a customer-centric culture has a positive impact on organizational performance. As a theoretical advance, the proposed model is validated based on the results obtained and a diagnostic tool is left to contribute to the implementation of a customer-centric culture in lodging establishments, through people management and the adoption of recent technologies. An agenda and other implications are presented in the conclusion.

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Author Biographies

Thais Bandinelli Vargas Lopes de Oliveira, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

Doutoranda em Turismo na USP. Mestra em Turismo e Hotelaria pela UNIVALI. Especialista em Gestão Hoteleira pela Castelli Escola Superior de Hotelaria. Tecnóloga em Hotelaria pela Faculdade de Tecnologia Senac RS e Graduada em Administração pela UNIFACS.

Ana Paula Lisboa Sohn, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI)

Doutora em Engenharia de Produção pela Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina com sanduíche na Universidade do Minho, PT. Professora e Pesquisadora do Programa de Pós-graduação em Turismo e Hotelaria da Universidade do Vale do Itajaí.

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Published

2025-07-02

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Bandinelli Vargas Lopes de Oliveira, T., & Lisboa Sohn, A. P. (2025). The perception of customer-centric culture in Brazilian lodging establishments. Revista Hospitalidade, 22, 1191. https://doi.org/10.29147/revhosp.v22.1191

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Revista Hospitalidade v. 22 - 2025

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