Customer Perceptions Of Service Quality Research Articles

Using SERVQUAL to Assess the Customer Satisfaction Level: A Study of an Urban Cooperative Bank

<p><em>The SERVQUAL instrument was developed in 1988 by Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry as a multi-item scale developed to assess customer perceptions of service quality in service industry. Customers judge service quality as low or high depending upon whether the service performance meets their expectation or not. The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of service quality of an urban cooperative bank on its customers and to throw light on the satisfaction level of the customers, so that the managers in the organization can improve the quality of the services rendered. Using SERVQUAL tool, five service quality dimensions using two segments in the form of a questionnaire consisting of 22 questions each have been used for the customers. The result shows that the overall perception of the quality of service provided by the bank under study is within the acceptable limit for the five aspects of service quality measured. Nevertheless, difference between the expectation of excellent service quality and perceived service quality throws light on the need for improvement by bridging the customer service gaps in certain areas of service delivery by the bank. Thus the research intends to add to the limited body of knowledge pertaining to the service quality of the bank under study.</em></p>

Service Quality Perception and Behavioural Intention

Private health care organizations are increasingly realizing the need to focus on service quality as a tool to improve their position in the highly competitive health care sector. Patients’ perception about health care services seems to have been largely ignored by health care providers in Indian private hospitals. The objective of the research is to analyze how customers’ service quality perception leads to positive behavioural intention towards service providers. For this purpose, the data were collected from a sample of 475 customers from Indian private hospitals. The analysis was used to analyze the customer service quality perception and behavioural intention. The findings indicate that service seeker and service provider relationship, quality of facilities and the interaction with supporting staff have a positive effect on customer perception. This piece of research may help the health care managers and organizations to formulate effective strategies for ensuring better quality of services to the customers. This study may further facilitate them in building positive behavioural intention of customers towards the health care services, thereby attracting and gaining more number of customers.

Employee beliefs regarding the impact of unconventional appearance on customers in Mexico and Turkey

Purpose– The increasing prevalence of unconventional appearance attributes (e.g. tattoos, piercings, unnatural hair color, alternative clothing) is a concern among employers as these appearance attributes are often viewed negatively. Because much of the existing employee appearance research has been conducted in the USA, the purpose of this paper is to examine employee beliefs regarding the impact of unconventional employee appearance on customer perceptions of service quality in Mexico and Turkey. The authors also examine the impact of gender, age, and position level.Design/methodology/approach– The sample consisted of 295 white collar employees in various service industries in Turkey and Mexico. Respondents reported how they thought eight employee appearance factors (tattoos, facial piercings, unconventional hair color, unconventional hair styles, sweat pants, clothing with rips or tears, clothing that bears midriffs, belly-buttons, or cleavage, and uniforms) would affect customer perceptions of service quality.Findings– Employees in both Mexico and Turkey indicated that uniforms would have a positive impact on customer perceptions of service quality and all seven unconventional employee appearance attributes would have a negative impact. Significant differences for country, gender, age, and position level were also found.Research limitations/implications– Future research including a more diverse group of countries and cultures is needed. Future research should also attempt to control for differences in type of organization, organizational culture, and job type.Practical implications– Alternative fashion and appearance styles may be trendy but there are risks in how these might be perceived by customers and by colleagues at work.Originality/value– This study examines employee beliefs regarding the impact of a variety of unconventional employee appearance attributes on customers’ perceptions of service quality in Mexico and Turkey.

Customer perceived service quality and loyalty in Islamic banks

Purpose– There is a plethora of research which has dealt with service quality issues in various service organizations. But a few researchers have presented state of service quality from a cultural perspective, especially within an Asian cultural context. The purpose of this paper is to measure service quality of Pakistani Islamic banks through validating a culturally sensitive scale: PAKSERV. Furthermore, the path from service quality to customer loyalty has been presented through applying PAKSERV service quality scale.Design/methodology/approach– Following a positivist tradition, the service quality to loyalty path in Islamic banking sector of Pakistan is established. A self-administered survey was conducted to approach 300 Islamic bank customers in major cities of Pakistan. The respondents were purposefully selected based on their extent of using the retail banking services. The data were analysed through employing various quantitative measures such as correlation and structural equation modelling employing AMOS.Findings– The findings reveal that Pakistani Islamic banking customers are satisfied with the service quality offered. All the dimensions of PAKSERV are found to significantly contribute towards customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, major focus of customer is on the dimensions such as responsiveness and sincerity which are understandable in high-risk avoiding and moderately power-oriented Pakistani society.Originality/value– The research has been first of its type to present the validity of PAKSERV scale in a collectivist cultural context of Pakistan. Furthermore, the path from the customer satisfaction to loyalty by employing PAKSERV scale has been presented for the first time.

An Empirical Study of Gap Analysis of Service Quality in Select Private Sector Banks

The present study evaluates the customer perceptions of service quality in select private sector banks. Data was collected from 200 customers of Private Sector Banks using structured questionnaire. Gap analysis and Multi regression were used for analysis of data. The result shows that the dimension of service quality such as Empathy and Accessibility has more gap, as the customer expectations are high to their perceived service. The result also indicates that Empathy-Reliability-Assurance positively influences the service quality. The study implies that bank should reduce the service gap to deliver superior quality of service to retain existing customers as well as to attract new customers.

The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on Service Quality of Banks in Ghana: Case Study of Ecobank and Access Bank Ghana

Ghana has witnessed a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M & As) in the banking industry following the bank recapitalization initiative by the government in 2008. This raises an important question concerning the trade-off between the possible efficiency gains and efficiency losses as banks merge into one large unit. The objective of this study was to find out how Mergers & Acquisitions have impacted service quality of consolidated banks in Ghana. A descriptive and explanatory design was adopted as the study sought to describe customer perceived service quality and to also explain the relationship between M & As and service quality. An ANOVA and T-tests techniques were used to analyze primary and secondary data gathered. Findings from the study indicated that M & As had positive impact on overall service quality. The conclusion drawn by the researchers indicates that mergers and acquisitions offer superior growth and financing option for banks. This in turn promotes economic efficiency through improvements in costs and services delivery.

Customer Perceptions of Service Quality in Luxury Hotels in Petra and Aqaba, Jordan: An Exploratory Study

The aim of the study is to assess customers perception of service quality in luxury hotels, in both, Petra (The iconic tourist attraction), and Aqaba (The commercial capital) on the Red Sea in Jordan and to help the hotel management identify how guest perceive the services and compare their performance against clients expectation.
 The study used a survey and interviews to accumulate information using SPSS version 20.0 for data analysis. The study sample consists of 271 participants of hotel guests at four- and five-star hotels in Petra and Aqaba. Findings results show that for responses relating to front office, room service, and in-house cafe/restaurant, the importance score is statistically significant to and higher than the performance rating. Overall, the results indicate a significant difference in guest expectations and actual experiences, thus highlighting managerial implications. The current study cannot claim to be wholly conclusive as it is limited to a small sample size from only two cities of Jordan.
 From a practitioner’s perspective, the study provides an opportunity to recognize, in ranking order, features that are considered important by the guests staying in luxury hotels of Petra and Aqaba, as well as to identify the areas of disparity in service quality.
 It is observed that this is a significant study regards to its contribution to the literature and hotel managers who plan to improve their performance and competitiveness through guest satisfaction.

Servant Leadership and Customer Service Quality at Korean Hotels: Multilevel Organizational Citizenship Behavior as a Mediator

We proposed that employees' individual- and group-level organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) would transmit the effect of servant leadership onto customer perception of service quality in the hotel context. Participants were 198 supervisors, lower-level customer-contact employees, and customers at South Korean hotels. Survey packets, comprising separate survey forms for each of the 3 groups of respondents, were distributed to the supervisors, who completed their own survey forms and provided the other versions of the survey form to the employees and customers. The results of the analysis of the matched responses supported the study hypotheses. We found that supervisors' servant leadership was positively related to customers' perception of level of service quality and that this positive relationship was mediated by both the hotel employees' individual-level and group-level OCB. The findings suggest that, to improve customer service quality at hotels, supervisors need to facilitate the active performance by their staff of OCB both individually and as a group.

The Influence of Demographic Factor on Customer Service Quality Perception

Banks are continually striving for increased service quality in order to achive a competitive edge. In order to improve service quality is necessary understanding the factor that can influence the customer perception of the service quality. Marketing literature posits demographics as an important factor affecting customer service quality. Development of marketing strategies requires appropriate understanding of factor that can influence customer perception about service quality. Bank customers’ needs according to their demography are still an unserved area. So, the purpose of this paper is to analysis the relationship between customer demographic characteristic such as gender, income, age and occupation and the bank service quality factors in Albania. For this purpose the data was collected through the survey of bank customers (N=352) in two major cities in Albania. For measuring bank service quality perceptions a modified BSQ instrument was used. Statistical techniques used to determine the influence of demographic factor on customer perception of service quality were one way ANOVA and post hoc test. A significant difference was found in service quality perception by age groups whereas no significant difference was found on bases of gender, income and occupation. The results of the study enhance the understanding of service quality perception in Albanian banking industry and provide useful insight for the management and delivery of service quality. Also, the study finding can help bankers to design strategies that can fulfill customer requirements according to their gender, ages, and income and occupation characteristics.

Determinants of Customer – Perceived Service Quality in the Albanian Banking Industry

The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of customer service quality perceptions and to develop an instrument to measure the level of service quality in Albanian banking industry. For this purpose we use the BSQ instrument and evaluate whether it can be applied in Albanian banks context. The BSQ items are evaluated and new item are added after an extensive and in depth analysis of the literature review published on bank service quality measurements. As a result of this analysis, a modified version of BSQ was created as a measurement scale of bank service quality in Albania. Data were collected through customer surveys conducted in two major cities in Albania, Tirana (the capital city) and Korca. A structured questionnaire was used in face to face interview with 352 retail bank customers. The questionnaire was formulated using BSQ items and items find from the literature review. The collected data were analyzed through tools such as factor analysis and one way ANOVA. This analysis helped to provide the validity and reliability of the modified instrument. The proposed scale comprises 28 items which spans four dimensions: responsiveness and informing, reliability and security, commodities, effective access. The research findings confirm that the BSQ instrument needs to be modified to the cultural context of Albania. Given the limited research done in measuring bank service quality in Albania this study is a significant contribution to the literature. The instrument developed in this study is important to bank managers for evaluating, controlling and improving service quality.

Does outcome quality matter? An investigation in the context of banking services in an emerging market

Purpose – This paper aims to measure outcome quality in banks in India and to make a comparative assessment of its influence on customer service quality perceptions. Though both functional quality (i.e. how service is delivered) and outcome quality (i.e. what is delivered) are important aspects of service quality, it is the functional quality which has primarily been the focus of past studies. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in the study are based on a survey of bank customers located in Delhi and National Capital Region. Using the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, validity and dimensionality of the multi-item functional and outcome quality scales used in the study were assessed. A structural model of relationships of functional and outcome quality with overall service quality was tested through use of the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Findings – The study finds outcome quality as being a significant and major determinant of customer service quality perceptions in banks. Inclusion of outcome quality in the analysis is, moreover, found to be helpful in capturing more exhaustively the variations present in customer overall service quality perceptions. Research limitations/implications – Both the functional and outcome quality in the study have been measured through scales adapted from past studies. But the same have not been found able to fully capture variations in customer service quality perceptions. More psychometrically sound scales to measure functional and outcome quality are needed. Studies in both the developing and developed countries and additional service sectors are called for to increase the generalizability of the study findings. Furthermore, nomological validity of the outcome quality scale needs to be investigated by relating it with other anent constructs, such as customer satisfaction and their behavioral intentions. Practical implications – Instead of simply remaining preoccupied with functional quality, i.e. process or how part of service delivery, bank management also needs to gauze customer outcome quality perceptions (i.e. what the customers think they are eventually getting out of their transactions with the service provider) and exercise due care to see that customers in fact are getting the core banking tasks performed for which they approach the banks in the first instance. Originality/value – Present study is first of its kind in investigating role of outcome quality in banking services sector in the context of an emerging market like India. Use of SEM for analyzing both the measurement and structural models constitutes another noteworthy feature of the study.

Does organizational citizenship behavior add value to human interaction with e-services?

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal associations among service innovation/improvement, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and the user-perceived value of e-services. The context of service delivery is particularly based on human interaction in e-service encounters.Design/methodology/approach– In total, 403 respondents from 53 different service departments were selected in this study. To fit the structure between respondents and departments, this study uses hierarchical linear modelling to examine the research model.Findings– The results indicate that service innovation/improvement and the OCB of department staff both positively affect the user-perceived value of e-services. However, the OCB of department staff does not have a moderating effect on the association between service innovation/improvement and the user-perceived value of e-services.Originality/value– Prior studies suggest that the OCB of service employees strongly reinforces customer perceptions of service quality and satisfaction. However, this causal association was proven in the context of face-to-face human interactions. This study is a pioneer study in examining the associations between OCB and human interaction with e-services.

The Relationship Between Emotional Labor Strategies, Service Provider Hostility, and Service Quality

This article suggests that emotional labor strategies relate differently to negative emotions displayed by service providers during service interactions. The display of hostile emotions by service providers is expected to influence customer perception of service quality. Findings tested in a sample of 107 service provider–customer dyads show that only surface acting related positively to service provider displays of hostility. Surface acting was also related positively to customers' evaluation of service quality. The same relationships with deep acting failed to reach significance. Furthermore, the display of service provider hostility was negatively related with customer evaluations of service quality.

Customer perceived service quality, satisfaction and loyalty in Indian private healthcare.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how perceived service quality and customer satisfaction lead to loyalty towards healthcare service providers. In total, 475 hospital patients participated in a questionnaire survey in five Indian private hospitals. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, regression and correlation statistics were employed to analyse customer perceived service quality and how it leads to loyalty towards service providers. Results indicate that the service seeker-service provider relationship, quality of facilities and the interaction with supporting staff have a positive effect on customer perception. Findings help healthcare managers to formulate effective strategies to ensure a better quality of services to the customers. This study helps healthcare managers to build customer loyalty towards healthcare services, thereby attracting and gaining more customers. This paper will help healthcare managers and service providers to analyse customer perceptions and their loyalty towards Indian private healthcare services.

The Improved Customer Satisfaction Prediction System on Airlines Service by Using Cloud Computing Based Intelligent Strategy System

The main purpose of this research is applying an intelligent strategy to improve the customer satisfaction prediction system of airlines service. Historically, the measurement of customer satisfaction collects by questionnaire. We collect and computing the customer satisfaction of each flight by the cloud computing based prediction system. It compares the customer questionnaire, then continuous modifying the accuracy of prediction system by neural network methodology. It is more efficiency and precisely to improve the customer satisfaction for the long-term perspective. We are proposing a parameter of evaluation module that selected 12 influence factors from MEPH and 12 satisfaction evaluation factors of airlines service (by customer perception of service quality). In this study, we are using back-propagation neural network method to build the module. The module could be used by calculating the airlines service satisfaction from the quality factors such as material, machine, product, and staff. However, we could get the prediction of service satisfaction through the way of data fusion by the 12 satisfaction indicators. The results could be used to make the service quality strategy, in order to lead a higher customer satisfaction. The findings help airlines managers to predict their customer satisfaction more efficiently, making changes to service quality strategy easily to meet the customers’ satisfaction level. Even if the managers pre-set a customers’ satisfaction level, a real-time cloud computing could help managers deploy the resources to achieve the goal. After all, in order to prove the feasibility of the parameters and the intelligent evaluation methodology, this study will collect data and test the evaluation of quality from an experimentation of airlines service system in Kaohsiung city in Taiwan.

Linkage between frontline employee service competence scale and customer perceptions of service quality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an instrument to measure service competencies and explore the relationship between service competencies and service quality. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered from 207 frontline employees (FLEs). A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the goodness-of-fit of the FLE service competence scale. Further, the partial least squares technique was used to analyze the data gathered from 252 customers to clarify the relationship between service competencies and perceived service quality. Findings – The results indicate that the instrument demonstrated high reliability, stable dimensionality and predictable relationships with service quality within the nomological network of service competencies. Moreover, the results provide evidence for the position that FLE interpersonal competencies are positively associated with the service quality dimensions of reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy, and that FLE professional competencies are positively associated with reliability and assurance of service quality. Research limitations/implications – The study has limited generalizability given the convenience sample and the wide variety of service industries. Implications regarding which specific FLE service competencies FLEs should focus on to enhance specific customer perceptions of service quality are also discussed. Originality/value – The present paper contributes specifically to understanding how service competencies of FLEs can influence consumers’ perceived service quality, and developing an instrument to measure service competencies.

Evaluating customer-perceived service quality in business management education in India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the question of service quality in the higher education sector in the business management area, with the research objective to explore the dimensions of service quality and assess performance of higher educational institutes (HEIs) in business management across customer-perceived service quality dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – A modified SERVQUAL instrument was used to capture customers’ perceptions of service quality with a sample size of 1,152 customers. Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was used to holistically evaluate the performance of the HEIs. Findings – The current research develops a scale for measuring service quality in the area of business management education and reinforces the fact that service quality is a multidimensional construct. It suggests that customers distinguish four dimensions of service quality in the case of the higher education industry in business management. TOPSIS analysis provides an effective framework for ranking competing HEIs holistically in terms of their overall performance with respect to multiple service quality factors. Research limitations/implications – Continued refinement of the scale for measuring service quality in higher education, proposed in this study, is certainly possible based on further research and trends in higher education. Practical implications – HEIs are finding themselves in an increasingly integrated competitive market. Consequently they are facing challenges due to the evaluation of the results of the services of education and training that they offer. In competitive environments, student perceptions of quality and their satisfaction level have become very important in order to attract and retain them. Identifying the underlying dimensions of service quality is the first step in the definition and provision of quality service and instilling of a customer-service culture. Having access to how consumers evaluate service quality in the higher educational sector in business management and evaluating the positions of the players in the market on service quality parameters, can help the organization to carry out its mission with more efficiency, aid in strategic planning and contend the initiatives that HEIs managers can take to enhance employees’ skills and attitudes and instill a culture of service excellence. Originality/value – The contribution of this research has been in terms of its scale development and modeling methodology. A methodological innovation in this research has been in the use of TOPSIS in the field of customer-perceived service quality in higher education.

Monitoring Customer Perceived Service Quality and Satisfaction during the Construction Process

Service quality has been studied across many construction related disciplines but little has been done concerning how it effects customer satisfaction during the day-to-day dynamics of onsite construction services. The research explores this setting in Australian housing construction projects. A highly detailed single case study methodology was used with a view to facilitating theory development for a targeted customer type displaying service quality oriented expectations, high involvement, but low construction experience. Gaps scores for perceived service quality and customer satisfaction were systematically monitored during construction. Concurrently, interviews were used to obtain incident data linked to the scoring data. It was found that service incidents, service quality and customer satisfaction were linked at each stage of construction. Related aspects included the ratio between positive and negative incidents; a saturation point regarding negative incidents; and an end of process/product realisation factor. The importance of identifying active service quality dimensions during construction was identified (especially reliability and care in execution of work). An incident coding structure was developed whereby frequently recurring incident features included spontaneous situations, site observations, personal interaction, subcontractor involvement, progressive product quality, progressive construction activity and defensive customer action. The research recommends that construction contractors aim to control the above features by creating orchestrated incidents and controlling exposure to perceptions via fast and seamless onsite construction.Paper type: Research article

Do task- and relation-oriented customers co-create a better quality of service?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how task- and relation-oriented customers co-create high quality services with frontline employees from the perspective of customer-dominant (C-D) logic. Design/methodology/approach – The authors reviewed the service management literature and identified a number of critical components that help service providers understand the psychology and behaviour of their customers, and how their customers perceive service encounters. The authors tested the theoretical model using a random survey sample of 707 consumers in Hong Kong. Findings – The authors found that information sharing fully mediated the interactive effects of customer involvement and customer motivational orientation on customer perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. These findings support the C-D logic that customers as co-creators of value play a dominant role in service encounters. Research limitations/implications – The authors contribute to the existing management literature by identifying the importance of the C-D logic for service delivery and management. In particular, the involvement of customers with different motivational orientations through information sharing significantly affects customers’ perceived service quality and satisfaction. Originality/value – The paper enhances the understanding of customer’s logic by exploring the conditions and process between customer involvement and service delivery. Further directions for theoretical and empirical research are suggested.

Measuring service quality in mid-scale hotels

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify an appropriate factor structure that may be utilized to effectively measure a hotel’s performance relative to service quality in a mid-scale setting. Customer perceptions of service quality in mid-scale hotels have largely been ignored; the focus of researchers has been the upscale (4-star) and luxury (5-star) segments. Design/methodology/approach – A 27-item questionnaire is utilized to measure service quality with an initial sample size of over 2,500 respondents. Principle component analysis is utilized to determine the factor structure and regression analysis to determine which factors may serve as predictors of a hotel’s ability to meet customers’ expectations and to provide value. Findings – A three-dimensional model emerged from the data, consistent with the theorizing of Rust and Oliver (1994), which includes the service product, service delivery and service environment. The service environment is the strongest predictor of a hotel’s ability to meet guests’ expectations and to provide guests with value within this context, which is inconsistent with findings in upscale and luxury hotels. Research limitations/implications – The generalizability of this research may be challenged, as the study was conducted within the context of an oceanfront resort destination dominated by leisure travelers; however, the study may be replicated in additional settings to determine if a similar bundling of service quality attributes occurs in other mid-scale settings including business hotels, as well as economy hotels. Practical implications – A three-factor model may be more appropriate for assessing service quality in a mid-scale (3-star) environment. In this setting, the service environment and service product may be more important measures of service quality than service delivery. This is an important finding, as many mid-scale and select-service, as well as new mid-scale, lifestyle hotel concepts, attempt to drive profitability by deemphasizing service delivery or by utilizing technology to facilitate service delivery. These findings may also assist operators of mid-scale hotels in improving guests’ perceptions of quality, which has been found to increase perceived value and may positively influence purchase or revisit intentions (Kashyap and Bojanic, 2000). Originality/value – Service quality research has been conducted, almost exclusively, in first-class (4-star) and luxury (5-star) hotels, while the majority of hotels do not fall into these categories. Although guest expectations relative to service quality may be lower in more moderately priced, mid-scale hotels, service quality remains a critical variable that influences a guest’s decision to return or recommend a hotel to others. Many travelers now utilize online reviews to minimize purchase risk by seeking information relative to service quality when selecting a hotel. Consequently, it is more important than ever that service quality is understood in hotels at all service levels. The present research contributes to filling this gap in the literature.