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Redefining service quality in the digital experience era

Research Article

Authors: Theodore Tarnanidis; Vasileios Ismyrlis; Vijaya Kittu Manda; Bruno Sousa

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTH-08-2025-0115

Journal Name: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Horizons; ISSN: Online ISSN 3049-7922 Print ISSN 3049-7914

Publisher: Emerald

Journal Paper Link on Publisher Website

Publication Date: January 6, 2026

Pages: 1-20

Abstract: Purpose

This study develops a new integrative framework that embeds digital technologies as core quality drivers, unlike prior models, which were treated only as supplementary tools. The study investigates systematic understanding and enhancement of quality in the tourism and hospitality industry, despite its inherent complexity and subjective nature. It examines how established quality management frameworks, such as TQM, ISO standards and SERVQUAL, can enhance customer satisfaction and service delivery.

Design/methodology/approach

The study proposes a novel integrative framework that treats digital technologies not as peripheral tools but as constitutive elements that actively reshape how service quality is defined, delivered, and measured in tourism. We conceptually develop and analytically validate this framework using a systematic integrative literature review. The study synthesizes existing theories, identifies gaps, evaluates established quality management tools and assesses the transformative role of digital enablers. This comprehensive, evidence-based model is particularly well-suited for digital tourism.

Findings

Quality remains crucial to achieving customer satisfaction in tourism, despite its subjective nature and the challenges associated with defining and measuring it. Digital technologies dissolve the provider–consumer boundary. They transform quality into a real-time, algorithmically mediated construct shaped by social validation (e.g. UGC and sustainability signals) rather than internal compliance. Implementing these frameworks effectively can improve organizational performance, increase customer loyalty and enhance competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

The focus of this study is on conceptuality and excludes empirical data or case studies. Future research could verify the conclusions by utilizing these frameworks in specific tourism environments and measuring their outcomes. Moreover, the variety of tourism services may necessitate customizing standard quality tools.

Practical implications

By mapping quality practices onto digital touchpoints, managers can deploy AI-powered personalization and sentiment analytics to monitor and enhance guest experiences in real-time. Managers can implement this framework by mapping legacy quality practices (e.g. ISO process controls) onto digital touchpoints (e.g. AI-driven sentiment analytics) to enable real-time quality measurement and control.

Social implications

The tourism sector’s improved service quality leads to better customer experiences, job satisfaction for employees, and sustainable business practices. The promotion of social and cultural exchange is a result of its support for economic growth in regions where tourism is a significant industry.

Originality/value

Prior studies adequately examined quality frameworks (e.g. TQM and SERVQUAL) or digital technologies in isolation. This study presents a novel integrative conceptual framework that repositions digital technologies–not as peripheral tools, but as constitutive elements that actively reshape the definition, delivery and measurement of service quality. Unlike previous conceptual models that treat digital technologies as external or supplementary, our framework embeds them as constitutive elements because they reshape how quality is perceived, delivered and measured in the tourism experience. This reconceptualization theoretically challenges the notion of quality as a static and provider-defined construct. The study proposes it instead as a dynamic, co-created phenomenon shaped in real-time by digital interactions.

Keywords: Service quality, ISO standards, Total quality management, Customer satisfaction, Digital technologies, Social media, Tourism marketing

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