Scale For Measuring Service Quality Research Articles

Quality of service of accommodation establishments as a factor in tourism competitiveness

This study examines the quality of service provided by accommodation establishments as a factor in tourism’s competitiveness. The new application of the concept of quality is determined by the customer's perception, interests, and expectations, and quality is a competitive factor that will lead to full customer satisfaction. The purpose of the study was to determine the service quality of lodging establishments based on guests' perceptions of tangible elements such as reliability, responsiveness, safety, and empathy as factors of tourism competitiveness in northern Peru. The study had a quantitative approach with a descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional design. A non-probabilistic convenience and intentional sampling method was chosen, in which 14 lodging establishments participated. The modified SERVPERF service quality measurement scale was used. The tangible element dimension is perceived from the establishment's facilities and the staff's appearance. Reliability with the promise of service at the established time and the predisposition to solve problems. Responsiveness is perceived in terms of speed of service and the ability to respond to customer needs. Security is perceived in terms of trust, discretion, and respect for guests' privacy, as well as in the transactions they carry out. Finally, empathy in the personalization of service and friendliness. The results show positive perceptions in the five dimensions of the SERVPERF model, concluding that the level of service quality is regular in lodging establishments based on the guest's perception. An important fact to consider is that between 20% and 30% of the respondents' answers are neutral, showing aspects to be improved, such as the use of attractive materials, personalized attention, and guest satisfaction.

Assessing the quality of services at an academic library

Customers usually have high expectations on the services they receive. The LibQUAL model was employed in this study to investigate the quality of services at an academic library. The participants were chosen from the five colleges in a university using simple random sampling. Two hundred participants were chosen from each college. In all, 1000 participants (including faculty members, postgraduate and undergraduate students) were selected for the study. The study revealed that users knew and used the library's services. The researchers delivered the questionnaires to the respondents at the library. The results showed that the library service quality (LSQ) fell short of users' expectations. There was a statistically significant difference in LSQ between gender of users. The users' expectations of the library's level of service were out of sync or mismatch. The variations could be attributed to differences in information needs of users. This requires the library to assess its services from users' perspective regularly. The use of the LibQUAL model provides useful information that library management can employ for developing service quality measurement scale and planning for service quality. The study also provides information about services that needs improvement, so that library staff could manage users' expectations and satisfaction in a better way. University authorities expect good return of investment made into the development of the library. Therefore, libraries should improve upon their services to boost the image of the Universities.

HEISQUAL – ACSI – IPA – PGCV: Synthesis of higher education service satisfaction measurements

The current weakness of various dimensions of service quality measurement scales that have been adopted in measuring the level of student service satisfaction at HE is often an obstacle to understanding weaknesses in the quality of HE service. This study aims to investigate the level of student service satisfaction based on the HEISQUAL synthesis combined with the ACSI, IPA, and PGCV methods as a holistic approach to determine priorities for continuous improvement. The integration of these three methods is very appropriate to answer the needs of HE in improving the quality of its services. The data in this study were obtained by distributing questionnaires to respondents with a sample size of 320 students using a convenience sampling technique (non-probability sampling). The results of this study indicate that HE service satisfaction is in the satisfied criteria, where 6 sub-dimensions are in quadrant A, 5 sub-dimensions are in quadrant B, 1 sub-dimension is in quadrant C, and 4 sub-dimensions are in quadrant D. From this analysis, the priority order of improvement are 1) ET, 2) LWE, 3) LF, 4) ECA, 5) C&M, 6) BTS. Through the HEISQUAL – ACSI – IPA – PGCV synthesis, HE can understand and determine well-accelerated strategic and practical policies.

Assessment of Airport Service Quality at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (Makia) Kano

Airports are a hub for aviation activities which support Airlines operations. Airport service quality measurement is required to promote satisfaction level among Air travellers by continuously improving the defected services. The study purpose is to assess Airports service quality at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano. Using purposive sampling, MAKIA was picked out of 31 Airports in Nigeria. Cochran formulae was used to determine a total of 384 questionnaires which were administered to air travellers boarding and onboarding passengers at the terminal building. The Airport service quality measurement scale was adapted from SERVPERF model with 22 service attributes believed that air travellers attached more importance to. The study outcome showed that the average Airport service quality score was 2.701. In addition, the results revealed that there exists a statistically significant relationship between service quality and air traveller satisfaction on; reliable and updated electronic information system (P-value=0.004), Airport safety and security services (P-value= 0.000), Prompt service from airline operation (P-value= 0.001) and Provision of assistance to minor (P-value = 0.002). This study therefore concludes that Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport offered a bad service to air travellers. The study recommends among others that, Airport staff courtesy should be improved through subjecting their staff to behavioural management training by the top management. service quality is an area which both Airport management and airlines can increase their revenue through increasing patronages. Therefore, a decisive measure by the Airport authority to improve the service offered will increase the service quality rating at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.

Literature review of service quality concepts, models and scales

This research is a literature review of service quality concepts, models, and their organisation based on service quality measurement scales and operationalisation techniques. Services marketing literature is reviewed from 1938 to 2018; important service quality concepts and models are classified into major groups for better understanding of service quality measurement scales and operationalisation techniques. The study identified five important developments in the service quality literature: disconfirmation theory, gaps model of service quality, normative expectations-differential scale, ideal expectations-differential scale, and performance-only scale. Subsequently, based on measurement scales and operationalisation techniques, the literature is classified into six distinctive groups: industry/function specific scales, multiple gaps scales, hierarchical scales, internal and external scales, conceptual differentiation, and other approaches to service quality. These six groups are recommended to be used for classifying any research involving measurement and operationalisation of service quality. The study contributes to better understanding of service quality conceptualisation centred around measurement scales and operationalisation techniques.

Integrated store service quality measurement scale in omni-channel retailing

PurposeBrick-and-mortar store is an essential channel to deliver a seamless shopping experience and meet customer's dynamic needs in omni-channel retailing. This paper aims to understand customers' expectations of the integrated stores and develop a measurement scale to assess in-store service quality in omni-channel retailing.Design/methodology/approachGrounded theory methodology (GTM) is employed to obtain a clear picture of consumer expectations and preferences regarding the omni-channel brick-and-mortar integrated stores. Then, an integrated store service quality scale is proposed, refined and validated using a questionnaire survey and structural equation model (SEM).FindingsThe measurement scale is set to include seven dimensions: in-store environment, in-store technology, product information consistency, employee assistance, personalization, channel availability and instant gratification and return. The relationships among these seven dimensions and customer satisfaction and loyalty are also verified. According to SEM, product information consistency is more important for customer satisfaction while personalization contributes more to customer loyalty. The results demonstrate that by analysing the seven dimensions, retailers can better understand customers and further improve service quality.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a sufficient measurement scale for in-store service quality and fills the gap in omni-channel retailing by capturing its integration attribute.

New dimension in the Bank Service Quality (BSQ) measurement scale: An empirical investigation

New dimension in the Bank Service Quality (BSQ) measurement scale: An empirical investigation

Measuring moderating role of management information system on servqual dimensions for the attainment of quality health care services of public hospitals in kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The study proposes to determine the role of MIS, on SERVQUAL dimensions in hospitals and assess the quality of services offered compared to their expectations. SERVQUAL, (a customized service quality measurement scale) was employed to work on the dimensions, by which service quality was mostly evaluated in hospitals. Questionnaires were developed and 309 respondents constituted the sample for the study. The SPSS statistical tool was used, to examine, analyse and interpret data. The overall study concluded that the quality of MIS, in public hospitals of KSA, was not highly satisfactory.

Investigating the Relationship Between Service Quality and Brand Trust for Theme Park Reopening: The Mediation of Perceived Uniqueness

Service quality and brand trust are important characteristics of companies hoping to succeed in the theme park market. The present study explores the understanding of the linking role of service quality and brand trust. The purpose of this study is to investigate visitors’ brand trust of the theme park industry. That trust is the selected context for this research. Data are collected based on a combined sampling from 154 selected visitors. In order to enhance or maintain brand trust, theme parks must pay strict attention to service quality and uniqueness. This study draws on an extensive survey that took place at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, immediately after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study firstly provides a model of THEMEQUAL as a unique service quality measurement scale for use in the Chinese theme park context. The results of this study indicate that a positive relationship exists between service quality and brand trust, which involves the mediation of perceived uniqueness.

Are the Generic Scales Enough to Measure Service Quality of Mobile Banking? A Comparative Analysis of Generic Service Quality Measurement Scales to Mobile Banking Context

The purpose of this study is to examine the service quality in the mobile banking (m-banking) context using different generic service quality scales, and to see which one is most appropriate to examine service quality in this context. Data were collected through structured questionnaires from 323 m-banking users in India. Unidimensionality, reliability, validity, and variance explained were the major criteria of comparison for generic service quality measures. The findings indicate that no measurement scale is suitable to measure m-banking service quality. This study provides the managers of financial institutions with some clear insights into consumers’ service quality expectations of m-banking.

Developing a service quality scale in context of organized grocery retail of India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to check the reliability and validity of a well-acknowledged scale developed by Pratibha A. Dabholkar (1996) in the context of Indian organized grocery retail and also to identify new aspects of service quality with respect to grocery retail from literature that have not been taken into account in earlier studies and to finally develop a new scale to measure service quality of organized retail grocery stores with consultation from several experts.Design/methodology/approachIn order to achieve the objectives of the research, both descriptive and exploratory research designs have been employed such that a survey of 800 respondents was undertaken as part of descriptive research whereas exploratory research was conducted to add new dimensions to the existing service quality measurement model so as to develop a new comprehensive scale.FindingsThe results of the study suggest that all the five dimensions of Dabholkar’s model are not suitable to measure service quality in Indian organized grocery retail stores. Therefore, a new instrument with total four dimensions has been developed.Practical implicationsThe study is of great importance for the retailers as it offers a more comprehensive and specific scale to measure service quality of organized grocery retail stores.Originality/valueThis research supports and makes contribution to the previous research on development of service quality measurement scales in Indian context.

Quality of healthcare services and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication.

Background: This study investigated quality of healthcare services from patients’ perspectives and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 surgery patients and 101 nurses caring them in a public hospital in Tabriz–Iran. Data were collected using the service quality measurement scale (SERVQUAL), hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC) and nurse physician professional communication questionnaire. Results: The highest and lowest mean (±SD) scores of the patients’ perception on the healthcare services quality belonged to the assurance 13.92 (±3.55) and empathy 6.78 (±1.88) domains,respectively. With regard to the patient safety culture, the mean percentage of positive answers ranged from 45.87% for "non-punitive response to errors" to 68.21% for "organizational continuous learning" domains. The highest and lowest mean (±SD) scores for the nurse physician professional communication were obtained for "cooperation" 3.44 (±0.35) and "non-participative decision-making" 2.84 (±0.34) domains, respectively. The "frequency of reported errors by healthcare professionals" (B=-4.20, 95% CI = -7.14 to -1.27, P<0.01) and "respect and sharing of information" (B=7.69, 95% CI=4.01 to 11.36, P<0.001) predicted the patients’perceptions of the quality of healthcare services. Conclusion: Organizational culture in dealing with medical error should be changed to non-punitive response. Change in safety culture towards reporting of errors, effective communication and teamwork between healthcare professionals are recommended.

Service Quality Assessment of Hospitals in Asian Context: An Empirical Evidence From Pakistan.

Hospitals vary from one another in terms of their specialty, services offered, and resource availability. Their services are widely measured with scales that gauge patients’ perspective. Therefore, there is a need for research to develop a scale that measures hospital service quality in Asian hospitals, regardless of their nature or ownership. To address this research need, this study adapted the SERVQUAL instrument to develop a service quality measurement scale. Data were collected from inpatients and outpatients at 9 different hospitals, and the scale was developed using structural equation modeling. The developed scale was then validated by identifying service quality gaps and ranking the areas that require managerial effort. The findings indicated that all 5 dimensions of SERVQUAL are valid in Asian countries such as Pakistan, with 13 items retained. Reliability, tangibility, responsiveness, empathy, and assurance were ranked first, second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in terms of the size of the quality gap. The gaps were statistically significant, with values ≤.05; therefore, hospital administrators must focus on each of these areas. By focusing on the identified areas of improvement, health care authorities, managers, practitioners, and decision makers can bring substantial change within hospitals.

Measuring service quality in pharmaceutical supply chain – distributor’s perspective

Purpose The aim of this paper is to contribute to the services marketing literature by developing a scale based on Parasuraman’s SERVQUAL scale for the measurement of distributor perceived service quality at the distributor–manufacturer interface of the pharmaceutical supply chain. Design/methodology/approach Based on a literature review and discussions with experts, a questionnaire was designed basing on the widely used service quality measurement scale (SERVQUAL). Personal survey was conducted among selected distributors spread over three major cities of the Indian pharmaceutical market. The study used the exploratory factor analysis to identify the critical factors of service quality followed by the confirmatory factor analysis (AMOS 20). Findings A valid scale with four dimensions – (reliability, assurance, responsiveness and communication) and 13 items for measuring the distributor perceived service quality was developed which also satisfied all the reliability and validity tests. The findings of the present study indicate that distributor perceived service quality has an effect on satisfaction. Practical implications The proposed scale is an attempt to explore the less researched area. This study will give further insights to researchers to measure service quality at different phases of the pharmaceutical supply chain. The study is limited to three cities; it can be extended to other regions of the country. This study will be helpful to the practicing managers to measure the service quality and improve the performance in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Social implications Service quality in pharmaceutical supply chain is very important, as it directly effects the health of the people, so the proposed scale can be used to control the quality of service. Originality/value The scale developed in this study can also be used for measuring distributor perceived service quality in other manufacturing sectors. This research provides direction and scope for further research to develop new concepts and models in measuring service quality in the supply chain.

Patients’ Perception of Service Quality of Health Care Services in India

Service quality is considered as a key component for employer brand that is determined through customers’ satisfaction. In this context, the primary goal of the health care industry is to provide the best possible service to their patients in order to sustain in the market. An assessment will give an opportunity to find out the loopholes in the services for future rectifications and to reach the desired goal. This study is, therefore, an attempt to measure the perception of patients regarding quality of health care services in India along with a comparative study on urban and rural hospitals. Here, current status of health care service quality and preferred service dimensions of urban and rural patients in India was investigated through literature review and questionnaire survey. Data were collected from 368 patients, who were then hospitalized or already discharged. The Service Quality Measurement scale (SERVQUAL) was applied to verify the hypotheses. The findings reveal that the health care service quality was unsatisfactory and patients’ preferences of dimensions were distinct in urban and rural areas. These gaps exist due to lack of knowledge, costly modern medical substances and treatments and so on. The study has implication in maintaining standard of health care service quality, making policies and serving research purposes.

A comparison of service quality attributes for stand-alone and resort-based luxury hotels in Macau: 3-Dimensional importance-performance analysis

As tourism took off in Macau, more luxury hotels were constructed to satisfy demand, many of them located in leisure resort complexes. This study uses the case of luxury hotels in Macau to examine the importance of specific characteristics in leisure resorts using a 3-dimensional importance-performance analysis (3-D IPA) approach that integrates the IPA approach with the three-factor theory. A new service quality measurement scale was developed and a total of 299 visitors staying overnight in the luxury hotels in Macau were surveyed. The results reveal the types (basic, excitement, and performance) of 45 service attributes in the 3-D IPA cube for stand-alone and resort-based luxury hotels. This study indicates a variation of types of three factors for service attributes may occur in different market segments. This study contributes a new service measurement scale for luxury hotels and 3-D IPA approach for researchers to conduct future studies.

Distributor- Retailer Interface in Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: Service Quality Measurement Scale.

In the current competitive market, service quality management is the key to the survival and success of businesses. SERVQUAL is a popular service quality measurement scale (SQMS) that has served as a basis for subsequent research on service quality; it has been used for testing different aspects of service quality in a market. The purpose of our study is, therefore, to develop a service quality measurement scale (SQMS) for the distributor-retailer interface of Pharm supply chains (PSC) in Iran. A survey was performed to collect data from pharmacies located in Tehran. A valid and reliable questionnaire delivered to pharmacies, and 400 pharmacies were intended to participate in our survey. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to develop an SQMS in this study. Sufficient sampling was undertaken to do CFA. Consistent with other service quality studies, this Res developed an SQMS with five dimensions and 20 items for PSC, and contributes to mangers to regularly measure service quality. This is an initial study to develop a framework for measuring service quality in Iranian PCS. The framework can be used effectively to achieve competitive advantage at the distributor-retailer interface.

Developing a scale for measuring service quality in the public sector

Public sector organisations are fundamentally different from private sector organisations in terms of their objectives, availability of resources, and decision making structures, etc. The existing service quality measurement models, based on the research from the private sector, cannot capture the complexities and unique contingencies of the public sector. The need, therefore, arises for the development of service quality measurement models for public sector organisations. By using a modified SERVQUAL instrument, this paper develops service quality measurement scale for public sector organisations. Data was collected from the customers of a national database centre, and the scale was developed using structural equation modelling. The developed scale comprises three service quality dimensions - reliability, responsiveness, and empathy. The findings highlight those areas of service quality in the public sector that really matter. The scale can be used as a managerial tool to measure and improve performance in public sector organisations.

A factor analytical service quality measurement scale for supermarkets in South Africa

The interest on quality issues have increased and attracted much attention in the last two decades. Limited academic research has been done in measuring service quality in a supermarket context. The research study attempts to clarify the conceptualisation and measurement of service quality within a supermarket environment. Multiple stages in the development of an instrument to measure supermarket service quality are explored. Exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to establish the dimensionality of the supermarket service quality scale. Several factor solutions were considered. A three-factor structure (atmospherics, physical interaction and shopping convenience) consisting of 24 items is proposed to capture the dimensions of service quality. The implications for future research are outlined.

Service quality measurement for secondary school setting

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and evaluate a service quality measurement scale for a secondary school setting in Mauritius. Design/methodology/approach – Research was conducted in two stages. First, a focus group method with the educators was used to identify the service quality dimensions and scale items. Study 2 used the exploratory factor analysis to group the service dimensions into latent “service factors”. The sample data were collected through a survey among educators from secondary schools. Findings – Factor analysis was used to develop a valid and reliable service quality measurement scale. The results of this study indicated that secondary education service quality is a multidimensional construct made up of five dimensions, namely school facilities, reliability, responsiveness, empathy and assurance-discipline. Research limitations/implications – Since, the study took place in only one of the four secondary educational zones in Mauritius, increasing the sample base in terms of zones, number of schools and respondents could provide safer generalisations of findings. Practical implications – This study provided insights for school administrators. The five dimensions clarified how educators form their quality perceptions toward the secondary schools. The study provides a useful tool for regular monitoring of quality in order to identify strengths and areas of improvement in the secondary education setting. Originality/value – This paper extends the service quality scale into the secondary school context. The proposed new scale expresses main service quality parameters that secondary schools could cater for to evaluate service delivery.