Beyond self-reports: the neuro-service quality (NSQ) framework

Abstract

Purpose The paper is a critical reflection on the prevalence of self-report in the research on the quality of hospitality service and offers a new, neuro-scientifically based framework: neuro-service quality (NSQ). It is intended to solve the validity crisis in conventional survey-based methods of assessment by providing a biological alternative. Design/methodology/approach This paper synthesises existing literature on service quality and current neuroscience research. The paper identifies gaps in the measurement of subconscious guest emotions and real-time physiological reactions and offers a multidisciplinary approach of affective neuroscience and service-dominant logic (SDL). Findings Traditional models do not adequately account for cognitive biases, retrospective distortions and the peak-end rule. The NSQ framework proposes the following metrics used as objective measures of service excellence: heart rate variability (HRV), skin conductance and neural resonance. Research limitations/implications This paper extends SDL by introducing neuro-affective value co-creation, which provides a more detailed conceptualisation of the biological roots of the guest experience. It is a critique of the old, long-standing gap model and proposes a change to experienced neural quality. Practical implications The use of non-invasive biometrics in optimising the service environment, personalising guest interaction and improving real-time service recovery applies to hospitality managers. It allows precision hospitality, in which the interventions are founded on objective physiological data. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first to propose a methodological alternative to traditional survey-based methods of measuring service quality within the hospitality industry.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 2026 · DOI ↗