Explaining library user loyalty through perceived service quality: What is wrong?

Abstract

AbstractThis study validates the adaptation of a loyalty scale for the library scenario and recovers the hierarchical nature of the perceived service quality (PSQ) by operationalizing it as a second‐order level construct, composed by the determinants of service quality (DSQ) identified by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry in 1985. Our hypothesis was that DSQ are distinct and complementary dimensions, in opposition to the overlapping of DSQ proposed in the SERVQUAL and LibQUAL+® models. In addition, the influence of PSQ on user loyalty (UL) was investigated. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed the survey data of 1,028 users of a network of academic libraries and report 2 main findings. First, it was shown that the 10 DSQ are statistically significant for the evaluation of PSQ. Second, we demonstrated the positive effect of PSQ for UL. The model presented may be used as a diagnostic and benchmarking tool for managers, coordinators, and librarians who seek to evaluate and/or assess the quality of the services offered by their libraries, as well as to identify and/or manage the loyalty level of their users.