Proposed enhanced gap analysis model for information systems sector (ISSERVQUAL)

Abstract

Orientation: Gap analysis in the information system (IS) sector is difficult to assess.Research purpose: A gap analysis model based on SERVQUAL is proposed to assess the gaps in IS services.Motivation for the study: During coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there has been an extensive use of distant learning and virtual meeting applications. Yet, there is no well-documented way to evaluate the IS service provided.Research design, approach and method: The proposed model adds a performance dimension covering the main characteristics of IS services. The model is tested on the internet service providers in Egypt as a case study. A questionnaire for the proposed model is developed, validated and distributed.Main findings: The questionnaire is statistically analysed to find whether there is statistical difference between the expectation and the perception for each factor. Then the data are tested to find whether the gender of the respondents, internet service provider and the status of whether the respondent pays for the service themself have a significant effect on the gap scores or not. Finally, an ordinal regression fit is introduced to estimate the overall satisfaction of the customers based on their gap score.Practical/managerial implications: Despite SERVQUAL being an adequate tool to analyse the gaps for different services, it needs some adaptation to fit different services. One important drawback of SERVQUAL analysis for the IS sector is that the dimensions of SERVQUAL do not fully cover the customer expectations in the IS sector.Contribution/value-add: This paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature by introducing the ‘ISSERVQUAL’ model.