Service quality evaluation of car rental industry in China

Abstract

Purpose – Due to the rapid development of automotive industry, China has become the world first in car production and consumption. However, under the pressure of environment pollution, traffic congestion and parking restriction in big cities, the car rental service, as an alternative solution for private car, becomes a new trend. The market is disorganized now. This research aims to use SERVQUAL model to further examine which dimension has great contribution to service quality. Design/methodology/approach – A service quality evaluation scale for the car rental industry in China is designed based on PZB's SERVQUAL model. The reliability and exploratory factor analysis methods are adopted to measure the validity and reliability of the scale from the sampled data. At the same time, the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is discussed with the path analysis method. Findings – The results show that the contribution of empathy to the total service quality ranks the top. At the same time, empathy has a strong impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Practical implications – It is very important to attract customers depending on personalized services or service providing mode, that is, the empathy. Originality/value – As a new mode in China, the car rental market is disorganized and has low service quality. The evaluation scale is designed including five dimensions. The analysis results provide guidance on how to improve their service quality to managers in car rental industry in China.