特集論文 / 招待査読論文
文化横断的サービスが国内旅行客の満足度に及ぼす正負の影響
2026 年 46 巻 3 号 p. 277-287
詳細
2026 年 46 巻 3 号 p. 277-287
Cultural adaptation by service providers to customers from different cultural backgrounds—that is, the provision of cross-cultural service—may be favorable for those customers, yet domestic tourists also coexist within the same service environment. However, no prior research has examined whether cross-cultural service may both positively and negatively affect the satisfaction of domestic tourists. Accordingly, the present study focuses on the possibility that a high level of cultural adaptation for inbound tourists may lower the level of service directed toward domestic tourists and may engender perceptions of inequity among them, and hypothesizes both positive and negative effects of cross-cultural service. The results of structural equation modeling show that cross-cultural service 1) reduces domestic tourists’ satisfaction by evoking a sense of imbalance stemming from a perceived relative decrease in the level of routine service compared to that received by inbound tourists, while 2) enhances domestic tourists’ satisfaction by fostering perceptions of service provider competence, but 3) does not lead to a perceived absolute decrease in the level of routine service. Furthermore, bootstrap tests of indirect effects reveal that 4) once an absolute decrease in the level of routine service is perceived, the resulting decline in satisfaction is substantial.
異文化の顧客に対するサービス提供者の文化的適応，すなわち文化横断的サービスの提供は，その顧客にとっては好ましいだろうが，同一サービス環境には国内旅行客もまた存在している。しかし，文化横断的サービスが国内旅行客の満足度へ正負の影響を及ぼしうると指摘した研究は存在しない。そこで本研究は，インバウンド客に対する高水準の異文化適応が，国内旅行客へのサービス水準を低下させる点，および，国内旅行客の不衡平感を生じさせる点に着目し，文化横断的サービスが有する正負の影響を仮説化した。構造方程式モデリングの結果，文化横断的サービスは，1）インバウンド客に比べて通常サービスの相対水準が低下するという不均衡を感じさせ，国内旅行客の満足度を低める一方，2）サービス提供者の有能さを感じさせ，国内旅行客の満足度を高めるが，3）通常サービスの絶対水準の低下には結びつかないということが示された。加えて，ブートストラップ法による間接効果の検定の結果，4）通常サービスの絶対水準の低下が知覚されると，満足度の低下の度合いが大きいということが示された。
Japan’s tourism industry is at a structural turning point. The number of inbound foreign tourists has grown rapidly, and the level of cultural diversity at tourist destinations has reached unprecedented heights. At the same time, domestic travel demand among Japanese tourists remains high. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that service environments in which customers from diverse cultural backgrounds receive services in the same setting have become commonplace in Japan. Under these circumstances, firms are not only strongly required to provide additional services to customers from different cultural backgrounds or those who speak languages other than the host country’s primary language, but also face challenges regarding whether such services can be delivered equitably (Mayser & von Wangenheim, 2013) and how to allocate their limited service resources. The present study defines cross-cultural service as the additional service that service providers deliver—beyond routine service—in order to adapt to linguistic or cultural differences when serving customers from different cultural backgrounds. Cross-cultural service is conceptualized as the counterpart of routine service, which refers to the basic service provided to all customers regardless of their cultural background, the level of which is perceived by customers in terms of sufficiency, accuracy, promptness, and courteousness.
In practice, at many tourist destinations, the provision of cross-cultural service in response to the rapid increase in inbound tourists has been accompanied by a growing number of situations in which the attentiveness of service directed toward domestic tourists appears to be compromised. For example, when signage is enriched with multilingual content, inbound tourists benefit from a higher level of cross-cultural service, whereas domestic tourists may find it more difficult to locate the Japanese-language information they need, resulting in a lower level of routine service. Similarly, when a hotel front desk is staffed with employees who are proficient only in foreign languages, inbound tourists benefit from a higher level of cross-cultural service, whereas domestic tourists may be kept waiting while a Japanese-speaking employee is called to attend to them, again resulting in a lower level of routine service.
Prior research on service in intercultural contexts has, first, examined the effects of service when customers and employees are from different cultures. Sharma et al. (2009) proposed a conceptual framework in which perceived cultural distance between customers and employees, together with the intercultural competence of both parties, influences satisfaction through interaction comfort and perceived service levels. Gaur et al. (2017) demonstrated that among employees’ acculturation behaviors, assimilation and integration—both of which involve cultural adaptation—have a positive effect on customer satisfaction. The focus of these studies was exclusively on the dyadic relationships between customers and employees from different cultures. Second, prior research has examined the effects of service when customers interacting with one another are from different cultures. Johnson and Grier (2013) showed that in service environments where customers from multiple cultures are co-present, perceived cultural compatibility among customers influences service satisfaction. This study, too, did not address the question of how service directed toward intercultural customers affects the satisfaction of domestic tourists as third parties.
Although the above studies presuppose service environments in which customers from multiple cultures are co-present, they have overlooked the psychological effects that cross-cultural service may have on customer groups outside its intended beneficiaries. This implies that the experiential intuition that may exist among practitioners—namely, that “providing good service to foreign customers may increase domestic customers’ dissatisfaction” (Hirabayashi, 2024)—has not been adequately explained by existing theory.
To bridge this gap between theory and practice, the present study aims to examine, both theoretically and empirically, the positive and negative routes through which cross-cultural service influences customer satisfaction. This study makes a theoretical contribution by focusing on domestic tourists’ responses to cross-cultural service and by being the first to examine both its positive and negative effects. It also makes a practical contribution by providing implications for the simultaneous pursuit of satisfaction among both domestic tourists and inbound tourists.
The service resources that firms possess—namely, personnel, time, and processing capacity—are finite. Because cross-cultural service is provided in addition to routine service, it consumes additional firm-level service resources as well as frontline employees’ time and processing capacity. Consequently, cross-cultural service may constrain the provision of routine service to domestic tourists, such as accurate information delivery and prompt and courteous responses, thereby increasing the likelihood that customers will perceive declines in service levels in the form of staff shortages, longer waiting times, and congestion.
These arguments are consistent with prior findings that waiting time lowers service evaluations (Taylor, 1994) and that perceived crowding elicits negative affect (Eroglu et al., 2005). On the basis of the foregoing, the level of cross-cultural service is expected to negatively affect domestic tourists’ satisfaction through perceived absolute decreases in the level of routine service. Therefore, hypothesis 1 is proposed.
H1 The level of cross-cultural service negatively affects domestic tourists’ satisfaction, mediated by a perceived absolute decrease in the level of routine service.
Even when firms increase the level of cross-cultural service, the beneficiaries of such increases are exclusively inbound tourists; thus, the overall level of service increases only for inbound tourists. When domestic tourists observe that inbound tourists are receiving more attentive service, they are likely to perceive the relative level of service directed toward inbound tourists as high and, conversely, the relative level of service directed toward themselves as low. Domestic tourists who perceive such an imbalance in the relative level of service are expected to experience a sense of inequity. According to equity theory, a sense of inequity arising from the perception of imbalance results in psychological tension (Adams, 1965). Therefore, hypothesis 2 is proposed.
H2 The level of cross-cultural service negatively affects domestic tourists’ satisfaction, mediated by a perceived relative decrease in the level of routine service.
When a decrease in the level of routine service occurs, the relative level of routine service directed toward domestic tourists will also decline, provided that the level of cross-cultural service for inbound tourists remains constant. In addition, domestic tourists who perceive a decrease in the level of service directed toward themselves are likely to become more attentive to the treatment of other customers within the same service environment—namely, inbound tourists—thereby becoming more susceptible to perceiving a relative decrease in service levels. Therefore, hypothesis 3 is proposed.
H3 The perceived absolute decrease in the level of routine service positively affects the perceived relative decrease in the level of routine service.
2. Positive routeWhen domestic tourists evaluate a high level of cross-cultural service, they are likely to draw inferences about the service provider’s intentions and capabilities on the basis of their observations. For example, even if an employee who speaks English but not Japanese must be replaced by a Japanese-speaking colleague when attending to domestic tourists, those tourists may infer that a firm capable of providing such cross-cultural service also possesses the capability to enhance their own satisfaction. Thus, the higher the level of cross-cultural service, the more likely domestic tourists are to perceive the service provider as competent, which in turn leads to greater satisfaction. However, according to Fiske et al. (2002), targets perceived as high in competence but low in warmth may elicit envy. In light of this consideration, it is possible that perceived warmth plays a moderating role in enabling competence to positively affect satisfaction. Therefore, hypothesis 4 is proposed.
H4 The level of cross-cultural service positively affects domestic tourists’ satisfaction, mediated by perceived provider competence as moderated by perceived warmth.
Consumer data from domestic tourists were collected through an online survey. The sample consisted of 403 respondents, of whom 254 were male (63.03%). With respect to age, 108 respondents (26.80%) were in their teens or 80s and older, whereas the remaining 295 respondents (73.20%) were in their 20s through 70s.
Four images corresponding to four distinct scenarios were prepared (see Appendix A for the images). Scenario 1 (high cross-cultural service level/firm level) depicted a situation in which tourist signage that had previously been available only in Japanese was now presented in multiple languages with identical content, making it difficult for domestic tourists to locate the Japanese-language information that they needed (n=100; 24.81%). Scenario 2 (high cross-cultural service level/employee level) depicted a situation in which, upon requesting to check in at a hotel front desk, a domestic tourist was told in broken Japanese by a foreign employee, “You are Japanese, right? Please wait a moment,” and was kept waiting while the employee returned to the back office to arrange for a Japanese-speaking colleague to take over (n=101; 25.06%). Scenario 3 (low cross-cultural service level/firm level) depicted a situation in which tourist signage was provided only in Japanese, making it easy for domestic tourists to read (n=100; 24.81%). Scenario 4 (low cross-cultural service level/employee level) depicted a situation in which, upon requesting to check in at a hotel front desk, a domestic tourist was told by a Japanese employee, “If you are a domestic traveler, we can simplify the procedure for you” (n=102; 25.31%).
2. ProcedureAfter the respondents were asked about their gender, age, and occupation, they were first shown one of the four images corresponding to the respective scenarios and were asked to recall a similar experience if they had one. They then responded to questions measuring the level of cross-cultural service (Ang et al., 2007; Parasuraman et al., 1988), perceived absolute decrease in the level of routine service, perceived relative decrease in the level of routine service, satisfaction (Reynolds & Beatty, 1999; Voss et al., 1998), and perceived provider competence and warmth (Cuddy et al., 2008; Fiske et al., 2002), in that order (see Appendix B for all measurement items).
Because no prior research has focused on the relationship between cross-cultural service and decreases in the level of routine service provision, the measurement items for the perceived absolute and relative decreases in the level of routine service were developed with reference to related prior studies. Specifically, items for the absolute decrease were developed by referring to existing scales on waiting time (Taylor, 1994) and crowding (Eroglu et al., 2005) and adapting them to the present research context. Items for the relative decrease were developed by referring to existing scales on distributive justice and differential treatment (Mayser & von Wangenheim, 2013) and were reconstructed by incorporating wording that reflects comparisons with other customers.
3. Measurement modelTo estimate the measurement model, a confirmatory factor analysis with maximum likelihood estimation was conducted. Because improvement in model fit was observed following item deletion, one item was removed from each of the cross-cultural service, absolute decrease, and relative decrease constructs. The results are presented in Table 1.
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Regarding the overall model, although RMSEA alone did not reach the ideal threshold of ≤0.06 (Hu & Bentler, 1999), the criteria of CFI≥0.95 (Hu & Bentler, 1999), CFI≥0.90 (Bentler, 1990), RMSEA≤0.08 (Browne & Cudeck, 1993), and SRMR≤0.08 (Hu & Bentler, 1999) confirmed that the model fit was at an acceptable level (CFI=0.954, RMSEA=0.069, SRMR=0.052).
With respect to reliability and validity, Cronbach’s α (Nunnally, 1978), McDonald’s ω—which does not require the assumption of tau equivalence (McNeish, 2018)—and composite reliability (CR) (Fornell & Larcker, 1981) all met the ≥0.70 threshold, thereby confirming the reliability of the constructs. All factor loadings (Hair et al., 2019) and average variance extracted (AVE) values (Fornell & Larcker, 1981) met the ≥0.50 threshold, thereby confirming convergent validity. Subsequently, the square root of the AVE for each construct was computed and compared with the inter-construct correlations (see Appendix C for details). Only the correlation between competence and warmth exceeded the square root of the AVE for each respective construct, raising concerns about discriminant validity between these two constructs. For all the other constructs, the absolute values of the inter-construct correlations fell below the square root of the AVE, thereby confirming discriminant validity (Fornell & Larcker, 1981).
4. Comparison of alternative modelsThe initial estimation of the structural model yielded no fit indices at acceptable levels (CFI=0.899, RMSEA=0.097, SRMR=0.206), and all the hypotheses except hypothesis 3 were nonsignificant (see Appendix D for details). Accordingly, the model was revised by removing warmth. According to Fiske et al. (2002), low perceived warmth arises when the target is perceived as a competitive out-group relative to one’s own group. However, the relationship between a service provider and a service recipient is inherently cooperative, and a competitive relationship cannot be established between them. In addition, the failure to establish discriminant validity between competence and warmth does not support the inclusion of both constructs in the same model. Therefore, alternative hypothesis 4, in which warmth is removed, is proposed.
H4alt The level of cross-cultural service positively affects domestic tourists’ satisfaction, mediated by perceived provider competence.
Although the fit of the revised model improved (CFI=0.943, RMSEA=0.080, SRMR=0.158), it is possible to construct further alternative models without compromising theoretical validity. The details are presented in Figure 1. “a. Alternative model 1” is the estimated model based on hypotheses 1, 2, and 3, together with alternative hypothesis 4. “b. Alternative model 2 (positive route only)” removes all negative routes to satisfaction from model a. “c. Alternative model 3 (negative route only)” conversely removes all positive routes to satisfaction from model a. “d. Alternative model 4 (Abs → Com, Rel → Com)” adds paths from both the absolute decrease and the relative decrease to competence to model a. “e. Alternative model 5 (Abs → Com)” adds a path from the absolute decrease to competence to model a. “f. Alternative model 6 (Rel → Com)” adds a path from the relative decrease to competence to model a.
The fit indices for the six alternative models are presented in Table 2. Although all the models met the criterion of CFI≥0.90 (Bentler, 1990), only alternative models 4, 5, and 6 met the more stringent criterion of CFI≥0.95 (Hu & Bentler, 1999). In addition, alternative model 4 had the smallest AIC, whereas alternative model 5 had the smallest BIC.
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The selection criteria were as follows. First, because AIC tends to decrease in conjunction with decreases in χ2 when paths are added, the difference in AIC between the two models may not reflect a substantively meaningful improvement. Second, although BIC imposes a penalty for the number of parameters that increases with sample size (Burnham & Anderson, 2002), the difference in BIC between the two models was only 2.386, suggesting that the path unique to alternative model 4 (relative decrease → competence) may be of limited importance within the model. Third, the path in question was nonsignificant (β=−0.104, p>.05), which favors parsimony. On the basis of the foregoing considerations, alternative model 5 was selected as the final model.
The detailed estimation results of this model are presented in Table 3. The effect of cross-cultural service on the absolute decrease was nonsignificant (β=−0.104, p>.05), and the effect of the absolute decrease on satisfaction was also nonsignificant (β=0.013, p>.05). Both effects were negative and significant only in alternative model 3; in all the other models, both effects were nonsignificant, as in alternative model 5. Therefore, hypothesis 1 was not supported.
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The effect of cross-cultural service on the relative decrease was positive and significant (β=0.208, p<.001), and the effect of the relative decrease on satisfaction was negative and significant (β=−0.149, p<.01). Of note, in alternative model 3 alone, the former was positive and significant, whereas the latter was nonsignificant; in all the other models, the results were consistent with those of alternative model 5—that is, the former was positive and significant, and the latter was negative and significant. These results indicate that cross-cultural service does indeed negatively affect satisfaction. Therefore, hypothesis 2 was supported.
The effect of the absolute decrease on the relative decrease was positive and significant (β=0.840, p<.001). This effect was also positive and significant in all the other alternative models. Therefore, hypothesis 3 was supported. Furthermore, the effect of cross-cultural service on competence was positive and significant (β=0.409, p<.001), and the effect of competence on satisfaction was positive and significant (β=0.641, p<.001). These effects were also significant in all the other alternative models. Therefore, alternative hypothesis 4 was supported. In addition, with respect to a path not included in the hypotheses, the effect of the absolute decrease on competence was negative and significant (β=−0.481, p<.001).
5. Test of indirect effectsTo test the indirect effects within the model, 95% confidence intervals were computed using the bootstrap method with 5,000 resamples (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). The results are presented in Table 4. The total indirect effect of cross-cultural service on satisfaction (CCS → all the mediators → Sat) was positive and significant (β=0.277, 95% CI [0.205, 0.435]).
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The negative indirect effect of cross-cultural service on satisfaction through the absolute decrease was nonsignificant; thus, hypothesis 1 was again not supported (CCS → Abs → Sat: β=−0.001, 95% CI [−0.035, 0.022]). In contrast, the negative indirect effect of cross-cultural service on satisfaction through the relative decrease was significant; thus, hypothesis 2 was again supported (CCS → Rel → Sat: β=−0.031, 95% CI [−0.080, −0.009]). The positive indirect effect of cross-cultural service on satisfaction through competence was significant; thus, alternative hypothesis 4 was again supported (CCS → Com → Sat: β=0.264, 95% CI [0.213, 0.411]).
The serial mediation effects from cross-cultural service to satisfaction were nonsignificant both when mediated through the absolute decrease and the relative decrease (CCS → Abs → Rel → Sat: β=0.013, 95% CI [−0.004, 0.052]) and when mediated through the absolute decrease and competence (CCS → Abs → Com → Sat: β=0.032, 95% CI [−0.018, 0.099]). On the other hand, two additional indirect effects within the model were significant. Specifically, the negative indirect effect from the absolute decrease to satisfaction through the relative decrease (Abs → Rel → Sat: β=−0.130, 95% CI [−0.247, −0.020]) and the negative indirect effect from the absolute decrease to satisfaction through competence (Abs → Com → Sat: β=−0.320, 95% CI [−0.413, −0.219]) were both significant.
Prior research has focused on the positive effects of cultural adaptation in service on the satisfaction of inbound tourists, while overlooking the positive and negative effects that such adaptation may have on the satisfaction of domestic tourists who are co-present within the same service environment. In contrast, this study is academically significant in that it focused on domestic tourists’ responses to cross-cultural service and was the first to examine both its positive and negative effects, both theoretically and empirically. In addition, the identification of the perceived absolute decrease in the level of routine service, the perceived relative decrease, and perceived provider competence as important mediators between cross-cultural service and satisfaction constitutes a further meaningful contribution of this study.
The present study yielded the following four findings. First, cross-cultural service directed toward inbound tourists reduces domestic tourists’ satisfaction only when it leads to a perceived relative decrease in the level of routine service. Service firms at tourist destinations should take care to ensure that cultural adaptation does not give rise to perceived relative decreases in service levels. This may be achieved by providing services that are accessible predominantly to domestic tourists—such as resident discounts, separation of service channels between inbound and domestic tourists, and frequent-visitor programs—alongside cross-cultural service.
Second, cross-cultural service enhances domestic tourists’ satisfaction through perceived provider competence. This effect is the largest among the indirect effects in the present model. Service firms at tourist destinations should promote their multilingual capabilities and cultural adaptation not through the framing of “meeting the needs of inbound tourists” but rather through the framing of “possessing the ability to respond to diverse needs.” Such messaging can be communicated through on-site signage, websites, and social media.
Third, although cross-cultural service can lead to a perceived relative decrease in the level of routine service, it does not lead to a perceived absolute decrease. This finding is encouraging for service firms at tourist destinations because it suggests that regardless of how cross-cultural service is provided, the perceived level of routine service remains unchanged.
Fourth, although the perceived absolute decrease in the level of routine service is not influenced by cross-cultural service, once such a decrease is perceived, it substantially lowers satisfaction through decreases in perceived relative service levels and perceived competence. Service firms at tourist destinations should recognize that preventing declines in the level of routine service is the second most important managerial priority after fostering perceptions of competence. Particularly during peak seasons, meticulous attention should be given to maintaining resource slack and optimizing resource allocation so that staff shortages, waiting times, and congestion do not arise in the course of service delivery.
2. Limitations and future researchThe present study has several limitations. First, the survey method relied on images. Scenario presentation through video, rather than through static images alone, may be preferable. Second, with respect to sampling, the respondents were limited to users of a domestic research firm’s panel. For more refined theory development, sampling under a broader range of geographic conditions is essential.
Several directions for future research can be identified. First, the exploration of moderating variables warrants attention. Identifying the moderating variables that strengthen or weaken the positive and negative routes uncovered in this study is important for both theory and practice. Second, research conducted in actual service environments is needed. Theoretical development can be further advanced by surveying domestic tourists immediately after they have experienced actual services, rather than relying on scenario-based surveys. Third, the simultaneous examination of inbound tourists’ perceptions merits investigation. Such a dyadic design would provide firms with further insights for optimizing the satisfaction of both inbound and domestic tourists.
It is hoped that advancing theory development along the lines outlined above will enable marketing research and consumer behavior research to continue expanding the frontiers of knowledge.
The author sincerely thanks the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Akinori Ono (Keio University), for the opportunity to develop this work and his valuable support in enhancing its quality. The author acknowledges the use of Claude (Anthropic) and ChatGPT (OpenAI) for refining the language of this paper.
The dataset generated and analyzed in this article is openly available in J-STAGE Data.
The author has no conflicts of interest to disclose regarding this manuscript.
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Takahiro Chiba
Takahiro Chiba is a Professor of Marketing at the Faculty of Business and Commerce, Kansai University. His research focuses on services marketing and consumer behavior, particularly the antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction.
