Perception Of Overall Service Quality Research Articles

How does customer satisfaction change after hotels start using self-service kiosks?

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated Self-service Kiosk (SSK) use in hotels, altering the composition of service packages and affecting customers' overall perception of service quality. However, SSKs' impact on customer satisfaction (CS) with the overall services remains uncertain. This study examines the impact of SSK use on CS and its underlying mechanisms using a large dataset at both the customer-hotel level for a large hotel group while comparing the impact before and amid the pandemic. Findings suggest that the adoption of SSKs has a positive impact on CS in which perceived utilitarian and hedonic values play a mediating role, and membership level plays a moderating role. Comparative analysis also indicated that SSKs had additional positive customer feedback amid the pandemic. These findings provide new understanding regarding the practical application value of SSK and help guide hotel management decisions regarding SSK implementation.

EXAMINING THE ROLE OF SERVICE QUALITY DIMENSIONS OF MOBILE PHONE SERVICE PROVIDERS; AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Service quality has become a critical factor for the competitive advantage of mobile phone service providers in the telecommunication industry. This study explores the key factors influencing service quality in mobile phone service providers and their impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. The analysis focuses on dimensions such as network quality, customer support, pricing, service reliability, and value-added services. The research aims to identify how these factors contribute to the overall perception of service quality and determine the most significant determinants of customer satisfaction. The non-probability convenience sampling technique is the most suitable method when it is not possible to obtain information from every member of the sample population. Additionally, the precise population frame of mobile phone service consumers in the study area could not be determined, as the number of users could not be ascertained. The interview schedule was employed to acquire the primary data from the respondents. The data that has been collected is coded and inserted into a primary table. The data are analysed in accordance with the nature of the data and the intent of the analysis (nature of the problem) using the SPSS software. For the purpose of the research, a sample size of 100 respondents is selected from an infinite population. A random sample strategy was used by the researcher in order to choose the objects that would be used for sampling. The findings highlight the need for service providers to continuously adapt and enhance their service offerings to meet evolving customer expectations and maintain competitiveness in a rapidly changing market

Customer Perceptions of Overall Service Quality (Low-cost Carriers in Saudi Arabia)

The civilized and industrial development in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through achieving the 2030 vision and creating a suitable environment for business, has attracted a lot of investments, businesses, and enterprises, which have created a highly competitive environment. This competitive environment has led company managers to search for ways to ensure continuity and superiority over their competitors. This research aims to assist people with interest in low-cost carriers (LCCs) in Saudi Arabia such as managers of LCCs and other stakeholders by providing them with information on the travelers’ perceptions that might be overlooked and could help to find solutions that lead to increase customer satisfaction and improve performance of the firm, or to abolish activities that could damage the reputation and performance. Survey questionnaires were distributed to 111 participants in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assess their perceptions of overall service quality via applying modified SERQUAL model on LCCs (LCCSQUAL). Data were analyzed using SPSS software; it was found that there are several SERQUAL dimensions that need to be improved especially those items with the lowest scores. The research concludes with providing some proposals that may assist managers and interested readers in achieving their goals towards sustainability.

An Investigation of Client Evaluation of Banking Service Quality in Iraq Banking Business

This study is a comprehensive analysis that aims to access and explain the preferences and perceptions of customers of service quality in Iraq banking and then define the aspects of service quality that lead to the perception of customer service quality in Iraq's banking industry. Customers of universal banks in Iraq were the target demographic of the study. In all 100 universal banks customers, the study was chosen. Reliability, responsiveness, and empathy are three most significant in determining the efficiency of universal banks in Iraq, according to the report. Customers have poor expectations of the overall service levels of universal banks. However, consumers' understanding of the physical dimensions of excellence and durability was found to be the perceptions of customers. The results of the study have shown that the empathy factor is the most influent aspect that determines consumers' understanding of overall service quality. Context factors such as gender, age, income level, and academic skills were found to affect consumer understanding and experience of quality of service. Empathy should be put greater importance since it is found to be the most important aspect of the overall perception of service quality by customers of universal banks in Iraq. Policymakers of universal banks can control the context characteristics of consumers when designing policies to increase quality of service. Future analysis is urged to carry out a cross-country comparison and to compare the findings of the current study in other African countries.

The Relationships among Overall Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty in Library Services

Understanding students' loyalty in library services becomes important as an operations strategy to retain existing students and attract new students. This study uses secondary data from a survey of business school library. Based on extensive literature survey, a scientific (service quality - customer satisfaction - customer loyalty) model is proposed to relate the antecedents of service quality, overall service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Using convenience sampling, survey (with a well-defined questionnaire) is carried out for regular library users and structural equation modelling (in IBM AMOS) is used for investigating the relationship between the latent constructs of the antecedents of service quality, overall service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The study identified four antecedents (reliability, assurance, empathy and physical aspects) of overall service quality. The study also found that perception of overall service quality has indirect influence on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction in library service.

Comparing Service Quality in Public vs Private Distance Education Institutions: Evidence Based on Malaysia

Assessment of the quality of distance education institutions has become an important issue that needs to be addressed to ensure program survival. This study uses SERVPERF model to identify the differences that exists in students’ perception of service quality in public and private universities in Malaysia that offer distance education. Our study confirms that this model is valid and reliable. We find that the students’ overall perception of service quality is lower in all five dimensions of service quality for the private universities. The dimensions that influence overall service quality are noticeably different for public and private universities. This suggests that private universities need to improve their service provision in order to remain competitive. Managerial implications of the major findings are discussed.

Service quality determinants at Zimbabwean state universities

PurposeThis research sought to empirically identify context specific dimensions of service quality at Zimbabwean State Universities. The study also sought to measure the ‘university-wide’ overall service quality at National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and to explore differences in service quality perception based on selected students’ demographic characteristics.Design/methodology/approachA case study strategy was used. Focus group discussions were used to qualitatively identify service quality variables; which were then subjected to quantitative evaluation through the administration of questionnaires on a sample of 294 students. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to reduce the service quality variables into service quality dimensions.FindingsFive dimensions of service quality were identified, namely: General Attitude, Facilitating Elements, Access, Lecture Rooms and Health Services. Results also showed that most students (48.3 per cent) perceived overall service quality at NUST to be average while 28.6 per cent and 23.1 per cent had a negative and positive perception of overall service quality respectively. Perceived overall service quality at NUST was found to differ significantly based on ‘students’ year of study’ and ‘faculty group’. Differences based on gender were found to be insignificant.Originality/valueIdentification of the five dimensions was a progressive step in developing a relevant service quality measurement instrument for a Zimbabwean State University context; and in so doing, contributing to literature on relevant service quality dimensions and measurement instruments in Zimbabwe and Africa in general. This was the first such study in Zimbabwe to address the context specific literature-gap on relevant service quality dimensions.

机构养老感知服务质量容忍区及其影响因素研究

本文以机构养老服务为研究对象，依据Parasuraman在SERVQUAL量表中关于服务质量维度的论述以及PZB提出的有关容忍区的概念，通过构建机构养老顾客容忍区上下限测度的指标体系对服务质量容忍区及其影响因素进行问卷设计和分析。结果表明：机构养老综合感知服务质量的容忍区域普遍较窄，顾客态度意向和过往经历都会影响顾客的理想服务水平和适当服务水平；环境因素会影响顾客的适当服务水平，服务强化因素会影响顾客的理想服务水平。通过评价分析结果为养老机构管理者和政府部门提出应对养老难题、促进机构养老服务发展的科学依据和政策建议。 Based on Parasuraman’s discussion on the dimension of service quality and the concept of toler-ance zone proposed by PZB, this paper constructs the index system of the upper and lower limit of the tolerance area of the old-age pension customers to analyze the service quality tolerance area and its influencing factors. The results show that the tolerance zone of the overall perception of service quality is generally narrow, and the customer’s attitude and past experience may affect the customer’s ideal service level and the appropriate service level. The environmental factors may affect the appropriate service level of the customer, and the service enhancement factor may affect the customer the ideal level of service. Through the evaluation of the results, policy recommendations are provided for the pension managers and government departments to deal with the pension problem and promote the development of institutional pension services.

An Exploratory Examination of Management Accounting Service and Information Quality

ABSTRACTWe develop and test a scale to measure perceptions of management accounting service information and quality. We use a theoretical framework adapted from Grönroos's (1978, 1983, 1984, 1990) service quality model that relates functional, technical, and image dimensions of service to perceived overall service quality. We develop constructs related to functional, technical, and image quality using questions derived from the accounting literature regarding the desirable characteristics of accountants and their information provision services. We test our predictions using survey data from 116 experienced business professionals. Results indicate that management accounting service quality can be mapped into functional, technical, and image dimensions. Furthermore, technical quality is more important to users than functional quality, and image quality partially mediates the technical and functional quality dimensions in forming user perceptions of overall service quality.

Mobile App Usage and its Implications for Service Management – Empirical Findings from German Public Transport

By drawing on self-service technology literature, the technology acceptance model (TAM), and on results of qualitative research, a model is presented to explain consumers’ intentions to use mobile apps of service companies. Additionally, the research identified outcomes of actual mobile app usage. The model was tested by collecting data from 197 public transport app users in Germany. Results indicate that information fit to task, convenience value, and speed of transaction affect perceived usefulness of mobile apps. Moreover, ease of understanding, intuitive handling, and reliability were found to drive perceived ease of use. The research also identified perceptions of overall service quality, firm innovativeness, and subjective firm knowledge as three outcomes of app usage. These findings emphasize the benefits of developing company owned mobile apps and have important implications for encouraging customers to use such programs.

Healthcare service quality: what really matters to the female patient?

Purpose– This paper aims to develop a model that encompasses the constructs and sub-constructs consumers use in evaluating healthcare service quality (HSQ) in Egypt.Design/methodology/approach– Factor analysis was performed on 40 variables to identify the constructs. Ordinal logistic regression was also used to identify the sub-constructs and examine the effect of each sub-construct on patients’ overall perception of service quality.Findings– Factor analysis confirmed an eight-construct framework: hospital premises and employees; doctor medical service; nursing medical service; diagnostic medical service; admission; discharge; rooms and housekeeping; and meals. Ordinal logistic regression established 17 sub-constructs – physician reliability; physician assurance; physician interaction; physician’s competence; nursing tangibles; nursing reliability; nursing assurance; nursing interaction; nursing responsiveness; diagnostic service competence; diagnostic service reliability; hospital premises and employees tangibles; admission responsiveness; admission knowledge and courtesy; meals tangibles; rooms tangibles and housekeeping courtesy; and discharge knowledge and courtesy – that have significant effect on HSQ. Some sub-constructs had a significantly greater impact on overall perception of service quality than others.Practical implications– Healthcare providers will be able to pinpoint areas of service quality shortfall and better satisfy their patients. This will ultimately lead to repeat patronage and positive recommendation behavior.Originality/value– The model is the first comprehensive model in the Middle East that takes into account all constructs and sub-constructs patients use for evaluation of HSQ.

An evaluation of an integrated perspective of perceived service quality for retail banking services in India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extract and validate the dimensions of service quality in retail banking services in India by adopting an integrated and hierarchical perspective of service quality determinants. Design/methodology/approach – The paper empirically validates a parsimonious (multi-dimensional and multi-level) model of service quality in retail banking services in India. The analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. A hypothesized second-order model was tested and compared with a first-order model of service quality. The dimensions were extracted through exploratory factor analysis and validated through confirmatory factor analysis. Findings – The second-order service quality model was accepted based on parsimony as it consisted of five primary dimensions: Service delivery (describing the efficiency with which the service is provided), tangibles (the quality of physical service environment), reliability (the promise of right service being provided), core service (the attributes and features of the service product) and competence (the capability of employees and systems for providing the service). The second-order model enhances the understanding of the structure of service quality for retail banking services in India. The most important dimension was tangibles, especially the physical environment which facilitates efficient delivery of service. Research limitations/implications – The research provides support for a multi-dimensional second-order model of service quality in retail banking service in India. The results show that customers form perceptions of overall service quality which are reflected by five primary dimensions. The primary dimension of tangibles is the most influential. Practical implications – Organizations need to measure and manage overall service quality perceptions to build trust and reinforce loyalty intentions among their customers. Banks need to adopt a multi-level approach to managing service quality perceptions, i.e. both at the dimensional level and organizational level. Social implications – This study would contribute to the enhancement of service quality outcomes in retail banking services in India which has a crucial role in the economic development. Originality/value – The study proposes and validates a parsimonious and hierarchical model of service quality in the context of retail banking in Indian cultural context. Thus this research provides support to existing knowledge of service quality measurement and management and extends the understanding of its structure by validating the multi-level model in an emerging market context.

Achieving customer loyalty through service excellence in internet industry

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the antecedents to attitudinal and behavioural loyalty of customers of Internet service providers (ISPs). In addition, this study endeavours to identify the relationship between overall service quality and cognitive as well as affective evaluations of customers. An assessment of service quality dimensions is also included to fill the void of research on modelling service quality in high tech services. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the most cited articles on the topic published in academic journals with a view to identify dimensions that customers use to evaluate the quality of a service providers, and to determine loyalty formation through customer cognitive and affective evaluations in Internet industry. Findings – The exogenous constructs of the conceptual model include influential factors such as network quality, customer service, information support and security which make up the perception of overall service quality. The endogenous constructs include cognitive and affective determinants such as customers’ trust, satisfaction, commitment, value and resultants – attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty. Originality/value – The study proposes that by enhancing service quality, firms can influence customers’ satisfaction, trust, commitment and value, and ultimately loyalty, which are critical for an ISP’s success and long-term sustainability. Moreover, applying the findings of this study, ISPs can strategise in making customers more central in their day to day operations, which would create competitive advantage for the companies.

Train delay and perceived-wait time: passengers' perspective

Waiting time influences the overall perception of service quality. The passenger-perceived waiting time can determine their waiting experience. The concept of waiting time refers to the comparison between the passengers' inherent tolerance of waiting and the possible improvement scenarios. This study investigates the passengers' tolerance of waiting under various scenarios of train delays in order to improve their perceived waiting time. We propose the adoption of a modern psychometric method utilizing the Rasch model to measure a subjective latent construct known as ‘wait tolerance'. The Rasch measurement provides mathematical procedures for transforming scores from an ordinal to an interval scale to observe which scenarios can reduce certain passengers' perceived waiting time in the case of a delay. Empirical results show that ‘uncontrollable circumstances', ‘friendly staff attitudes', and ‘providing appropriate messages of apology' can improve the passenger-perceived waiting time during train delays. Likewise, distinct differences are found in the passengers' tolerance of waiting in terms of various personal characteristics, such as gender, age, and train riding frequency. The findings propose the implementation of strategies for improvement by rail system operators, as well as for regulators to define a reasonable service level in the case of train delays. The reviews show possible future innovative research orientations as well.

City Employee Perceptions of the Impact of Dress and Appearance

This study focuses on city employees and their perceptions regarding the importance of dress and appearance in the public sector workplace. Using the impression management literature and self-presentation theory, we examine the impact of mode of dress worn (casual, business casual, formal business) on their self-perceptions of creativity, productivity, trustworthiness, authoritativeness, friendliness, and competence. We also examine their beliefs regarding the impact of employee appearance on customer perceptions of service quality. Our results suggest that “you are what you wear.” Respondents felt more competent and authoritative when wearing either formal business or business casual, more trustworthy and productive when wearing business casual, and least friendly and creative when wearing formal business attire. Respondents also believed that uniforms had a positive impact on customer perceptions of overall service quality, and that tattoos, athletic wear, unconventional hairstyles or hair color, sweat pants, facial piercings, revealing clothing and clothing with tears, rips or holes had a negative impact. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

대학급식 이용실태 및 급식서비스 품질이 고객만족과 고객태도에 미치는 영향

This study investigated the efficiency of university foodservice operations by analyzing the effect of consumer`s perception towards university foodservice quality. University students in the Jeonnam area were surveyed and 571 out of 700 surveys were chosen (response rate: 97.0%). SPSS (ver. 20.0) was used to conduct descriptive analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, t-test, and multiple regression analysis. The results show that 21.9% of university students have never used the university foodservice, while 48.7% of university students have eaten there 1~2 times per week. The most common reasons reported for avoiding the university foodservice were a limited menu selection (51.5%) and an untasty food (45.8%). The perception of overall service quality at the university foodservice scored relatively low (3.01 points), compared with its importance (3.89 points). The food taste, menu variety, and quality of food ingredients are factors that require improvement for operational strategies by the importance-performance analysis (IPA). The food factors (taste, variety, and quality) among university foodservice qualities had a significantly positive effect on consumers` overall satisfaction (p

The Effects of Facial Attractiveness and Gender on Customer Evaluations during a Web-Video Sales Encounter

The use of virtual environments as a support platform for demonstrating products and providing after-sales advice is today relatively commonplace. The Web-video interface represents a fundamental shift away from traditional selling atmospherics where the facial appearance of sales personnel replaces many traditional dimensions of service quality. Although salesperson attractiveness has previously been studied empirically, research into facial attractiveness remains scant. As gender has been proposed as a moderating factor in dyadic selling relationships, this study employs an experiment to test the combined effects of salesperson facial attractiveness, complainant gender, and salesperson gender, on three customer evaluations—satisfaction, perceived quality, and loyalty intentions—during a Web-video encounter. The findings show that facial appearance significantly affected satisfaction at the encounter level although not perceptions of overall service quality or intentions to repurchase. In addition, the study found that dyad gender mismatching resulted in higher customer satisfaction scores for an attractive salesperson. Based on these results, managerial implications and opportunities for future research are discussed.

A Study on Impact of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Insurance Industry

Service quality is a dominant issue in business today. Not only is superior quality linked to business success (Philips, Chang and Buzzell, 1983), but some consider service quality to be a prerequisite for the survival in the marketplace (Parasuraman, Zeithmal and Berry, 1988). Service quality was traditionally, albeit mistakenly, equated with courtesy (Benett and Higgins, 1988). Over the years, however, service quality has become more important to service businesses. In the early twentieth century, service quality has been reported as having apparent relationship to customer satisfaction (Boltan and Drew, 1991; Boulding et al, 1993).The results of the present study confirm the same in the context of the Indian insurance industry. The most important parameters that influence perception of overall service quality found in the study are appealing brochures, pamphets; time related promises being kept; services being provided at the promised time and employees’ individual attention to customers.

How the Rehabilitation Environment Influences Patient Perception of Service Quality: A Qualitative Study

ObjectiveTo identify elements of the environment that patients consider when evaluating the quality of a care experience in outpatient rehabilitation settings. DesignA qualitative study using a modified grounded theory approach. Data collection used semistructured interviewing during 9 focus groups. SettingThree postacute ambulatory centers in metropolitan areas. ParticipantsAdults (N=57; 33 men, 24 women) undergoing outpatient rehabilitation for musculoskeletal conditions/injuries. InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresNot applicable. ResultsParticipants perceived the quality of rehabilitation service on the basis of their experiences with environmental factors, including 3 physical factors (facility design, ambient conditions, and social factors) and 4 organizational factors (duration of attendance, interruptions during delivery of care, waiting times in the sequence of treatment, and patient safety). ConclusionsThis study identifies the specific environmental attributes that patients consider important when evaluating the quality of outpatient rehabilitation settings and develops a patient-based framework for assessing the overall perception of service quality. Further research should work to develop self-report questionnaires about patient experiences with the environment in rehabilitation services to provide empirical and quantitative evidence.

Importance of marketing mix in higher education institutions

Understanding factors and circumstances that create certain market environment conditions is a primary goal of any modern - oriented higher education institution that enables harmonizing the supply with current demands as well as defining appropriate marketing strategies. The process of formulating the strategy of a higher education institution, in addition to reviewing the existing services, includes identifying new opportunities, analyzing relevant competitors and positioning against them and similar. The need for change in marketing strategy, that is market restructuring of a higher education institution, presents a natural consequence of economic oscillations which are the result of market needs and competition dynamics. Continuous monitoring and adjustment of modern developments with the needs of the target market affect the overall perception of service quality and satisfaction of users. Since the choice of marketing strategy involves defining the best ways of achieving the goals, keeping in mind that marketing as a business function, it should contribute to the improvement of educational institutions of governance process, orientation towards the market, or aligning curriculum with the needs of target groups. The Education Reform in Serbia has initiated all educational institutions (private and state) which market-oriented their activities, due to insufficient, inadequate application of current marketing and marketing tools. Using different combinations of marketing mix instruments can lead to achieving competitive advantage in education market. The main role of marketing strategy is to combine competences and other strategies of an educational institution, coordinating the challenges and limitations imposed by its environment and finding the best ways of achieving its mission and vision.