Postrzegana jakość usług a zachowania pozakupowe na rynku turystycznym

Background. Word of mouth (WOM) has been acknowledged for many years as a factor of major influence on what people know, feel and do. Currently, the word of mouth effect is especially important in the tourism industry, whose intangible products are difficult to evaluate prior to their consumption. The aim of the research was to examine the relationship between the perceived service quality and the respondents’ willingness to recommend the services to others (word of mouth effect). Material and methods. The hypothesis was tested empirically among a sample of 221 students who participated in family vacation in the previous year. The Spearman correlation was established to explore the strength of the relationship between the perceived service quality and the WOM effect. Results. The study supported the hypothesis that the perceived service quality had a positive influence on the word of mouth effect. Conclusions. The perceived quality of services should be regarded as an important determinant of customers’ post-purchase behaviour.