Outcomes of service encounter quality in a business-to-business context |
| |
Authors: | Chanaka Jayawardhena [Author Vitae] Anne L. Souchon [Author Vitae] Andrew M. Farrell [Author Vitae] Kate Glanville [Author Vitae] |
| |
Affiliation: | a The Business School, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK b Endeavour Capital Ltd, Level Five, Wakefield House, 90 The Terrace, PO Box 10811, Wellington, New Zealand |
| |
Abstract: | Service encounter quality is an area of growing interest to researchers and managers alike, yet little is known about the effects of face-to-face service encounter quality within a business-to-business setting. In this paper, a psychometrically sound measure of such service encounter quality is proposed, and consequences of this construct are empirically assessed. Both a literature review and a dyadic in-depth interview approach were used to develop a conceptual framework and a pool of items to capture service encounter quality. A mail survey of customers was undertaken, and a response rate of 36% was obtained. Data analysis was conducted via confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings reveal a four-factor structure of service encounter quality, encompassing professionalism, civility, friendliness and competence dimensions. Service encounter quality was found to be directly related to customer satisfaction and service quality perceptions, and indirectly to loyalty. The importance of these findings for practitioners and for future research on service encounter quality is discussed. |
| |
Keywords: | Service encounter quality Customer satisfaction Service quality Loyalty Business-to-business Professional services |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|