Fostering customer loyalty across countries in hospitality and tourism: a meta-analysis of cultural values as moderators

Purpose This study aims to meta-analyze the moderating roles of Hofstede’s four cultural values in the antecedent–tourist loyalty link. Design/methodology/approach Based on 35 independent studies, a meta-regression was conducted to determine whether the heterogeneity of 11 antecedent–tourist loyalty relationships could be explained by four dimensions of Hofstede’s cultural values. Furthermore, this study tested how these relationships were contingent on each cultural value dimension, reinforced by robustness tests involving subgroup analyses. Findings The intensity of all associations significantly varied by at least one cultural value dimension, namely, power distance, individualism, masculinity or uncertainty avoidance. Research limitations/implications This meta-analytic study enriches the relevant literature by referring to a large, diverse sample to enhance the robustness of the moderating role of tourists’ national culture in loyalty formation and revealing the moderating effect of national culture in 11 antecedent–tourist loyalty links more than in extant literature. Originality/value For the body of knowledge of culture-moderated tourist loyalty formation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the pioneering meta-analytic effort. It also first offers an original contribution to moderator analysis meta-analytic studies of tourist loyalty by identifying a new moderator, i.e. national culture.