EXPLORING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN SERVICE PERCEPTIONS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MICHELIN-STARRED RESTAURANTS IN TÜRKİYE AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

Authors : Oğuzhan Kıvrak

Pages : 2236-2255

Doi:10.35408/comuybd.1714480

View : 97 | Download : 311

Publication Date : 2025-10-24

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study aims to explore how customer perceptions of service quality are shaped by cultural context by comparatively analyzing Tripadvisor reviews of Michelin‑starred restaurants in Türkiye and the United Kingdom. All reviews were subjected to sentiment analysis and labelled as positive or negative. The labelled comments were then classified according to the five SERVQUAL dimensions of reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness. Each review was assigned to the dimension whose keywords it matched most closely, and the proportional distribution of these dimensions was calculated. The findings show that, for restaurants in Türkiye, the “tangibles” dimension accounts for the highest proportion of both positive and negative reviews by the customers. This indicates that customers in Türkiye, a high-power distance culture, place greater emphasis on the tangibles as the physical evidences may be associated with elitism, power, status, prestige, and rank, a common aspiration in high-power distance cultures. By contrast, reviews of restaurants in the United Kingdom are dominated by the “responsiveness” dimension. This suggests that in a relatively low power‑distance culture customers may place greater emphasis on efficiency and effectiveness of the service staff, i.e., prompt service, interaction, and helpfulness are given higher priority. Overall, the study demonstrates that the relative salience of SERVQUAL dimensions or the importance attached to each dimension may vary depending on the cultural characteristics of the county. The study has important implications for the Michelin-starred restaurants operating in different cultures.
Keywords : SERVQUAL, Güç Mesafesi, Metin Madenciliği, Duygu Analizi

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