arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

Is Kano's Model Outdated or Still Essential for Understanding Customer Needs in an Era of Unlimited Choice?

Zuzana Gajdošíková et al.

Tourism & Management Studies2026https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.20260102article
ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

A vast supply of products and services can confuse customers, masking their needs and complicating efforts to satisfy them. Kano’s model suggests that customers lack clear awareness of their requirements. This study, based on a novel explanation of the interlinearity of quality attributes and its disruption, explores the applicability of Kano's model in measuring today’s customer satisfaction. It examines the impact of digitisation on guest satisfaction. Analysing 310 hotel guests in Slovakia during the winter season of 2023/2024, the study identifies quality attributes revealing insights into how selected dimensions affect satisfaction. A two-step cluster analysis reveals four distinct customer segments with unique expectations, highlighting the need for tailored services. Findings indicate that while digital technologies help address staff shortages, they do not enhance guest satisfaction rather, the opposite. The study offers recommendations for hoteliers seeking to improve service quality and technological integration. It bridges Kano’s theoretical foundations with practical relevance in the contemporary context, suggesting future research directions for the evolving relationship among customer satisfaction, digitisation, and service quality.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.20260102

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{zuzana2026,
  title        = {{Is Kano's Model Outdated or Still Essential for Understanding Customer Needs in an Era of Unlimited Choice?}},
  author       = {Zuzana Gajdošíková et al.},
  journal      = {Tourism & Management Studies},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.20260102},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Is Kano's Model Outdated or Still Essential for Understanding Customer Needs in an Era of Unlimited Choice?

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.