Value co-destruction in hotel services: Exploring the misalignment of cognitive scripts among customers and providers

Abstract

In hotel services, the provider and customer are expected to behave according to a specific cognitive script that has been developed based on previous experiences of different actors' input and behavior. However, if either party deviates from their script, value co-destruction – rather than value co-creation – might emerge. While the existing tourism management literature has examined how value co-destruction emerges, it has focused almost exclusively on the customer perspective, while offering less insights on the supplier and dyadic perspectives. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to explore how script misalignment between customers and providers results in value co-destruction perceived by both parties in the dyad. We analyze this empirically using supplier interviews, customer diaries and online reviews. Based on the findings, we develop an empirically grounded conceptual model that illustrates how different value co-destruction antecedents manifest in the hotel service context, and lead to different value co-destruction outcomes for customers and suppliers.