Impact of knowledge sharing on employees' service quality: the moderating role of artificial intelligence

Purpose: A growing number of international travellers have influenced how hotels manage their customer satisfaction reviews and ratings. This study examines the influence of knowledge sharing on employee service quality and customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. Another purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effect of artificial intelligence (AI) system quality on the relationship between knowledge sharing on employee service quality and customer satisfaction. 

Design/methodology/approach: The research design was developed using the positivism approach and quantitative method. Data were collected via a self-administered survey from Vietnamese hotels that used AI systems in employees' work tasks. Three hundred and fifty pairs of questionnaires for frontline employees and customers were collected and used for the data analysis. Structural equation modelling was accessed to examine the framework model. 

Findings: This research shows that the increase of knowledge sharing behaviours significantly influenced customer perceptions of employees' service quality. Furthermore, employee service quality positively affected customer satisfaction. An indirect impact of knowledge sharing on customer satisfaction via employee service quality was found. AI system quality moderated the effect of knowledge sharing on employee service quality whereby the higher the AI system quality, the stronger the impact of knowledge sharing on employee service quality. Therefore, a moderated mediation of employee service quality was found in examining the relationship between knowledge sharing and customer satisfaction. 

Research limitations/implications: This study's findings direct hotel knowledge management and marketing strategies to attract international customers. The study provides hotel managers with directions to increase customer satisfaction to create a competitive advantage in international marketing strategies. 

Originality/value: This study's distinctive contribution lies in examining the phenomenon of employee service quality at the intersection of knowledge sharing and customer satisfaction and the use of AI systems from an emerging market context. Furthermore, the moderation role of AI quality has rarely been explored.