Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH 
Some limitations are acknowledged, as the study was limited to hotels in Australia, which might not be 
generalizable to other markets. However, given that the hotels were from various regions around Australia, and from 
different hotel groups, it is possible that the results could be generalized across the hotel sector. Another 
acknowledged limitation is the use of employee perceptions of customer satisfaction rather than responses taken 
directly from customers. While employees have shown the ability to offer a reasonable assessment of customer 
satisfaction (Johnson, 1996), the inability to gain direct access to customers made it impossible to make a direct 
measure of customer satisfaction.
The outcomes of this research suggest a number of possible ways forward. Firstly, further examination 
could be undertaken to assess the effect of service climate dimensions on various customer outcomes, employee 
perceptions and, in particular, on firm financial performance. The literature suggests a direct link between customer 
satisfaction and firm financial performance, but direct tests of this influence in a hotel or hospitality context would 
make useful further research. Additionally, the lack of hotel industry-specific service climate measures provides an 
impetus for future research to undertake rigorous scale development and testing of service climate measures specific 
to the hotel industry. This research framework could also be applied in a longitudinal research design. In such as 
design, research could examine the nuances of employee perceptions of service climate and employee identification 
during change processes in order to diagnose the effectiveness of change. 
While service climate and employee identification have been topics of research for many years, there has 
been limited application of these constructs in a hospitality industry setting. Although this paper was primarily a 
conceptual one, which proposes a useful link for social identity theory to be applied in service organizations, the 
findings have been one attempt to redress this shortcoming.