Service Quality Measurements in a Developing Economy

Abstract

The relative practicality and usefulness of alternative measures of service quality is being debated in the marketing literature. This research tests measuring performance perceptions only (SERVPERF) against measuring customer expectations and performance (SERVQUAL) in the context of a developing economy. In addition, both SERVPERF and SERVQUAL scores are weighted with measurements of the importance of service attributes to customers. Findings confirm that SERVPERF and SERVQUAL each contribute different valuable information; however, weighting the measures adds no new information.     

Measuring service quality of travel agents: evidence from Northern Cyprus

Service quality delivered by travel agents in Northern Cyprus was examined using a SERVQUAL scale. The translated instrument was purified using an item-categorisation technique and administered to 337 current users of travel agents in the region. Expectations and performance (SERVPERF) scores indicated that respondents were concerned most with the efficiency and least with the personalisation of the services offered. The largest service gaps were identified with the ‘modern’ appearance of the service and service-scape, and the smallest with interpersonal qualities of service. Multiple regression showed promptness, empathy, efficiency and service-scape aesthetics to be the main determinants of customer satisfaction. SERVPERF scores gave a better prediction of overall satisfaction and showed marginally better reliability and validity than those from which expectations were subtracted. Instead of the predicted SERVQUAL five-factor solution, factor analysis showed an underlying uni-dimensionality that is consistent with the findings of other authors. Possible management actions suggested by the findings are discussed in the context of the small business environment in Northern Cyprus.     

Management of perceptions of information technology service quality

The present study evaluates the perception gaps of service quality between information technology (IT) service providers and their clients. IT services require high investments, which make analyzing its effectiveness increasingly important. To do this analysis, this study uses the instrument SERVPERF of the SERVQUAL model. The research took place in a large Brazilian retail bank, which identified gaps in perceptions between IT service providers and its clients. The findings suggest opportunities for improvement in the quality of IT services from a strategic alignment perspective, particularly in the following dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The study also indicates some enhancements for the SERVQUAL model.     

Measuring Service Quality in a Corporatised Public Sector Environment

ABSTRACT

Using a modified SERVQUAL scale, this paper measures perceived service quality in a corporatised public sector environment. Five factors were identified: personalised proficiency, empathic professionalism, reliability, tangibles and access; explaining 61% of overall variance. Further analysis using multiple regression also indicated that 45% of the variability in customer satisfaction and 43% of the variability in overall service quality was explained by the five factors. The research was conducted in response to calls for the application of this measure and following a review of extant literature that indicated the limited number of studies undertaken within the public sector that assessed service quality.     

An Empirical Study of Servqual's Dimensionality

This paper describes a scale, called SERVQUAL, which measures Service Quality. First, the scale's conceptual framework and the steps of its development are described. Second, criticisms arising from several replication studies of SERVQUAL are reviewed. The last part focuses on the dimensionality of the scale. Do the 22 items of the SERVQUAL scale clearly evoke, in the clients’ mind, the five Service Quality dimensions defined by Parasuraman et al. [1988]? An empirical study shows that one dimension, ‘Tangibles’, is clearly perceived followed by ‘Empathy’. The three other dimensions, ‘Reliability’, ‘Insurance’ and ‘Responsiveness ', are confused in the client's mind.     

Validating Restaurant Service Quality Dimensions

Abstract

Service-based industries such as hotels and restaurants are spending a tremendous effort to measure and improve the service quality of their businesses. Service quality is one of the key factors in achieving competitive advantages in the restaurant industry since high service quality presumably results in increased customer satisfaction, and thus increased future patronage. The purpose of this study was to examine the two generic service-quality dimensions: physical quality and staff behavior/attitude in restaurants by employing the confirmatory factor analysis approach. The findings indicated that the two-factor model of restaurant service quality was successfully validated and also, the predictive accuracy of the model was established.     

Superior Service Quality in Indian Cellular Telecommunication Industry

Abstract

This study deals with the measurement of service quality at cellular retail outlets in the Indian environment with a focus on perception and expectation of service quality from the customer's perspective. The research was conducted via a structured questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL model. A literature review was conducted on service quality and its potential offering competitive advantage. This study provides evidence supporting the proposition that customers distinguish between the performance cues of the customer-contact employees. Service delivery systems should create positive moments of truth by ensuring that the point of customer's contact is reduced to minimum.     

Measuring Quality and Client Satisfaction in Professional Business Services

ABSTRACT

This paper builds on recent research into the key attributes clients use as a measure of quality and satisfaction when consuming professional services. It looks at the use of SERVQUAL as means of measuring consumer satisfaction and attempts to isolate the key factors and attributes used by decision makers to determine supplier choice. The results of the study are presented and discussed in respect to what communication action may increase awareness and loyalty in existing and potential buyers.     

Methods for determining areas for improvement based on the design of customer surveys

Many firms conduct satisfaction surveys of their customers, with a view to using the analyzed results to identify areas of potential improvement. The weakness in this approach is that attributes with a lower satisfaction level might not be in need of improvement. They might merely be of little concern to customers. The present research develops several methods to identify areas that do require improvement. These methods include the importance–satisfaction (I–S) model, the improvement index, the quality-improvement index, the SERVQUAL survey, Kano's model, the extent of satisfaction, and the extent of dissatisfaction. An integrated model of service-quality measurement is used to cover all the customer surveys required for an international certification service company. In the case study, valuable information of various kinds is obtained from an analysis of the customer surveys. On the basis of this information, the firm can make appropriate decisions on areas for improvement, which are significantly different from those identified on the basis of a simple satisfaction survey.     

Numeric or weighted distribution? The effect of different channel performance metrics on market share

Abstract

Previous studies have found a convex relation between weighted measures of distribution and market share for consumer products in developed economies, while companies in emerging markets often use a non-weighted (numeric) distribution measure to manage their channel strategy. In contrast to the markets with high retail concentration, the numeric distribution could be best suited to a more fragmented retail market in which the percentage of physical distribution is important. We investigate the effects of expanding numeric versus expanding weighted distribution by studying stores in channels and regions characterized by structural differences in an emerging market. Our data come from retail audits in Brazil and include 91 soft drink manufacturers, 195 brands and 1,110 stock-keeping units. Our study highlights the importance of numeric distribution as a performance measure in this market. Additionally, we show that the effects of numeric and weighted distribution on market share vary by region and channel format.     

The Triumph of Creativity over Communication

Abstract

This review summarizes experimental evidence from advertising and related disciplines on the effects of physically attractive communicators and models on opinion change, product evaluation, source perception, and recall, among other dependent measures. The evidence indicates that attractive (vs. unattractive) communicators consistently are liked more, are perceived in more favorable terms, and have a positive impact on the products with which they are associated. Source attractiveness is also related positively to agreement although the effects appear to be less consistent, especially when the communicator is female. The review includes a critical assessment of previous studies and presents specific directions for future research.     

The Influence of Product/Nudity Congruence on Advertising Effectiveness

Abstract

While a body of research has examined the effects of nudity appeals in advertising, previous studies examining the question of product/nudity congruency have failed to consider product categories of equivalent levels of involvement and towards which respondents had similar purchase intention. In this experimental study, we examine the role which product/nudity congruency and levels of nudity have on several measures of advertising effectiveness. We also examine the effect of the usa between these two variables. Our findings suggest that product type and the interaction between degree of nudity and product both influence significantly certain measures of advertising effectiveness. Implications for marketing professionals and researchers are outlined, along with directions for future research.     

Customer Service Employees

ABSTRACT

In Singapore, the Company Act requires every company to have an audit every year regardless of the cost and whether the directors and shareholders want one. As there are many professional accounting firms competing for the audit business of these companies, it has become essential that these accounting firms must strive to ensure that their clients are satisfied with the services provided. This paper reports a survey of 1.96 companies with headquarters in Singapore, Japan, Europe and the United States. The survey revealed the reasons for choosing a particular audit firms and the reasons for staying with them. A modified version of the SERVQUAL scale developed by Parasuraman was used to measure both the expectation and performance of service quality. A gap analysis was also carried out to determine the differences.     

Measuring Service Quality in IT Services: Using Service Encounters to Elicit Quality Dimensions

ABSTRACT

Recent growth of personal computing and networked systems have resulted in Information Systems (IS) departments facing a heavy demand on their services. Based on internal marketing concepts, IS services need to use a measure of service quality for their internal customers. Studies carried out recently, suggest SERVQUAL as a possible measure of IS service quality. However, there are some issues that relate to their discriminant validity and appropriateness. A bottom-up approach to elicit service quality dimensions is explored using service encounters in a health organization. The results indicate that while the dimensions of responsiveness and assurance seem to be important, there is a need to re-look at these broad dimensions as more specific dimensions may be more appropriate for IS settings.     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Employee Behavior/ Non-Behavior and Customer Satisfaction in Quick Service Restaurants

ABSTRACT

The major objective of this research is to explore the relationship between employee behavior/non-behavior and customer satisfaction in quick service restaurants. Four behavioral components (employee reliability, employee responsiveness, employee assurance, and employee empathy) and one non-behavioral component (the physical environment) are identified.

The survey questionnaire included the modified SERVQUAL instrument (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1991) in addition to questions about satisfaction. A convenience sample of 125 participants was used to collect data by frequenting selected quick service restaurants. The results identified significant positive correlations between three of the five behavior/non-behavior constructs (employee responsiveness, employee assurance, and the physical environment) with three of the four identified dimensions of customer satisfaction (satisfaction with the food, satisfaction with the task/service, satisfaction with the price, and overall satisfaction).     

Hospice Informal Caregivers' Perception of a Good Death Experience: A SERVQUAL Analysis

ABSTRACT

This research study explores hospice informal caregivers' perceptions of service quality and a good death experience during end-of-life care. It demonstrates how service dimensions of the SERVQUAL analysis affect overall customer satisfaction. This study addresses contrast and dissonance theory as relative to marginal gaps in actual service performance and the effect on overall customer satisfaction. The research indicated that while reliability was the core of the service outcome, peripheral variables (e.g., assurance, empathy, responsiveness, and tangibility) integrated emotions and feelings into the hospice service process that equated to a positive disconfirmation of expectations and a good death experience.     

Is Corporate Responsibility Converging? A Comparison of Corporate Responsibility Reporting in the USA, UK, Australia, and Germany

Corporate social reporting, while not mandatory in most countries, has been adopted by many large companies around the world and there are now a variety of competing global standards for non-financial reporting, such as the Global Reporting Initiative and the UN Global Compact. However, while some companies (e.g., Henkel, BHP, Johnson and Johnson) have a long standing tradition in reporting non-financial information, other companies provide only limited information, or in some cases, no information at all. Previous studies have suggested that there are, country and industry-specific, differences in the extent of CSR reports (e.g., Kolk et al.: 2001, Business Strategy and the Environment 10, 15–28; Kolk: 2005, Management International Review 45, 145–166; Maignan and Ralston: 2002, Journal of International Business Studies 33(3), 497–514). However, findings are inconclusive or contradictory and it is often difficult to compare previous studies owing to the idiosyncratic methods used in each study (Graafland et al.: 2004, Journal of Business Ethics 53, 137–152). Furthermore, previous studies have relied mainly on simple measures, such as word counts and page counts of reports, to compare the extent of reporting that may not capture significant differences in the content of the reports. In this article, we seek to overcome some of these deficiencies by using textual analysis software and a more robust statistical method to more objectively and reliably compare the CSR reports of firms in different industries and countries. We examine a sample of leading companies in four countries (US, UK, Australia, and Germany) and test whether or not membership of the Global Compact makes a difference to CSR reporting and is overcoming industry and country specific factors that limit standardization. We conclude that GlobalCompact membership is having an effect only in certain areas of CSR reporting, related to the environment and workers, and that businesses from different countries vary significantly in the extent to which they promote CSR and the CSR issues that they choose to emphasize in their reports. These country differences are argued to be related to the different institutional arrangements in each country.     

The Dimensions of Service Quality: The Original European Perspective Revisited

The early pioneers of services marketing in Europe, especially the Nordic School, argued that service quality consists of two or three underlying dimensions. Lehtinen and Lehtinen [1985] referred to physical and interactive quality while Christian Grönroos [1984] identified a technical dimension, a functional dimension and the firm's image as a third dimension. In later years, Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry [1988] published empirical evidence from five service industries which suggested that five dimensions more appropriately capture the perceived service quality construct. This study uses an exploratory factor analysis approach to investigate the empirical factor structure of the SERVQUAL instrument developed by Parasuraman et al. [1988] to measure perceived service quality. Based on the results of five exploratory analyses performed on five SERVQUAL data sets, a model for SERVQUAL is proposed. It suggests that the SERVQUAL difference scores are measures of two factors termed ‘intrinsic’ and ‘extrinsic’ service quality. The model is then fitted to the SERVQUAL data obtained from five samples of clients who evaluated the services of five service industries or companies by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The results of this study provide empirical support for the European authors who, in the early 1980s, argued that service quality perceptions are largely determined by two (rather than five) dimensions.     

Structural Equation Test of Service Quality Dimensions on the Relationship Quality Construct: Evidence from an Emerging Telecom Market

While the subjects of “relationship quality” and “service quality” are well-researched and understood, a clear explanation of the exact relationship that exists between these two important themes is lacking. In a departure from previous service quality studies, this article uses a conservative measure of SERVQUAL to explore the diagnostic structure of service quality. Next, it investigates the structural behavior of service quality dimensions on the relationship quality construct within an emerging telecom market through a dual-lens theoretical viewpoint. The findings show that, in an emerging telecom market, the dimensional structure of SERVQUAL does not completely match with the result previously generated by the originators. It also demonstrates that by improving some quality indicators, a service provider is better positioned to improve relationship quality. In addition, this article challenges the existing tenet of the S-O-R framework by demonstrating that stimulus factors can directly predict the response factor and that the response variable can play a dual role in the S-O-R arena. Finally, implications and contributions are outlined.     

Managerial Resource Allocation and International Performance

Abstract

The “global village” phenomenon has resulted in an increase in the number of articles devoted to examinations of international marketing strategy and, importantly, to its impact on international performance. Notably, previous research has examined the impact of standardization (versus adaptation) and the content of marketing strategies on performance. There is little empirical work on the relationship between the resource devoted to international operations and the success achieved in these operations. Given the important performance implications of this relationship, the research reported here adds to this limited body of research. First, it uses three measures of resources allocated to international operations, including international strategic planning, an underutilized construct in international research. Second, it includes two performance dimensions: objective and subjective (satisfaction). Third, it examines the relationships between allocated resources and the two performance dimensions. Finally, it examines these relationships in Israel, thus extending the generalizability of previous research. The relationship is tested with data from Israeli respondents to a mail survey. The results are used to generate international research and managerial implications.