The mediation effect of value on experience and service quality toward satisfaction in Malaysian tourism industry

Tourism is a fast growing industry that receives global attention. The study on tourist satisfaction is still limited even though tourism industry is one of the major contributors to Malaysian economic development. This research examines the relationship between experience, service quality, value and satisfaction among international tourists in Malaysia. Multistage sampling method comprising of stratified and convenient sampling techniques were used to draw samples from international tourists who travel to Malaysia. The research instrument used was questionnaire, where 301 questionnaires were used for data analysis. Findings indicated that experience, service quality and value were three interrelated factors that collectively contributed to the satisfaction among the international tourists. Besides, the construct of value was statistically proven to play the role as a mediator in service quality-satisfaction relationship and experience-satisfaction relationship. However, the moderating role of service quality proposed in the framework was rejected. In addition, the statistical results indicated that the affective-related factors that are experience and value, have a greater impact on tourist satisfaction in comparison to the cognitive-based factor that is service quality. This research has contributed to the theory modification and model conceptualization in terms of satisfaction, particularly within the tourism context. Apart from the contribution to the body of knowledge of satisfaction and consumer behaviour literature, this study also provides practical implications on the tourism service providers to increase tourists’ satisfaction level by enhancing the tourist experience and perceived value without disregarding the quality of services