Various Dimensions Of Service Quality Research Articles

Service Quality Model for Modern Retail Banks in India – A Questionnaire Development and Validation

With significant changes in the Indian banking sector, private sector and foreign banks greatly emphasise the standardisation of 'high-tech' services and their application in retail banking. The shift in how modern banks are perceived for the quality of their services in recent years has made it more important for scholars and professionals to comprehend its facets. Prior research on this concept has mainly focused on the SERVQUAL model (developed by Parasuraman et. al, 1988). The theoretical contribution of the present study lies in extending the SERVQUAL model to modern retail banks in India. The study starts with identifying and testing dimensions of service quality. Based on the analysis of data collected from 173 customers of different banks, the questionnaire has been found to be reliable and valid for measuring various dimensions of service quality in modern banks in India.

Analysis of Risk Factors for the Quality of Health Services in Primary Health Facilities: An Observational Study in North Bengkulu Regency, Indonesia

Primary health care (PHC) is crucial for overall health system performance, particularly in developing nations. However, variations in the quality of PHC services in Indonesia, particularly in North Bengkulu Regency, raise concerns. This study aimed to identify and analyze risk factors associated with suboptimal quality of health services in these facilities. This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in 20 primary health centers (PHCs) in North Bengkulu Regency. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 400 patients and 80 healthcare providers. Data were collected using validated questionnaires assessing various dimensions of service quality (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy), patient satisfaction, and potential risk factors (socio-demographic, facility-related, and provider-related). Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and multivariate logistic regression were used for data analysis. The study found a significant association between perceived service quality and patient satisfaction. Socio-demographic factors (lower education and income), facility-related factors (inadequate staffing and lack of essential medicines), and provider-related factors (insufficient communication and perceived lack of empathy) were identified as risk factors for lower service quality. The quality of health services in North Bengkulu PHCs is influenced by a complex interplay of patient, facility, and provider factors. Interventions targeting these risk factors, such as community education, capacity building for providers, and improvements in resource allocation, may improve PHC service quality and patient satisfaction in this region.

Service Quality Preferences Among Customers at Islamic Banks in South Africa

Purpose: The objective of this study is to investigate the service quality preferences of Muslim customers considering demographic factors, specifically gender preferences. Theoretical framework: This study is guided by the dimensions in the SERVQUAL model including an additional dimension related to ‘compliance’ from the Carter Model. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative, cross-sectional study was carried out to examine the preferences of customers concerning service quality at Islamic banks in South Africa. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: The findings from the study show that ‘convenient operating times’, ‘providing prompt service to customers’, ‘having records that are accurate and without errors’, ‘staff keep to promises when timeframes are given regarding services to be complete’, ‘keeping customer information confidential’ ‘staff having the best interest of customers in mind’ and finally ‘the Islamic bank does not take interest on loans given’ are the most important items for both males and females regarding the various dimensions of service quality. The reported results also show no significant difference when it comes to service quality preferences between males and females. Research, Practical & Social implications: The results of this study have several practical implications. Firstly, Islamic banks can increase their market share by tailoring the quality of their service offerings to align with customer preferences. Secondly, Islamic banks should include as part of their advertising campaigns, the specific service quality offering most appealing to customers. Lastly, initiatives towards improving service quality should not be directed to a specific gender, rather initiatives must be inclusive of all customers, as the results of this study found no difference in service quality preferences regarding gender. Originality/Value: This is the first study to consider the role of gender concerning service quality preferences by customers of Islamic banks in South Africa.

Farm Tourism in Kerala – An Empirical Analysis of Service Quality

Farm tourism is an integral part of eco-tourism. Being an agricultural nominated state, Kerala has huge potential for developing farm tourism without incurring much additional cost. This study aims to examine the service quality of farm tourism spots in Kerala and to analyze its relationship with the overall satisfaction level of tourists. This is a descriptive paper based on both primary and secondary data. The study used a perception-based SERVPERF scale for measuring service quality. The dimensions of the SERVPERF scale include tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The study collected data from 100 farm tourists visiting farm tourism spots in the Wayanad district of Kerala using convenience sampling method. Cronbach’s alpha values for service quality dimensions were high, and hence the SERVPERF scale used in the study is proved to be highly reliable. Findings revealed that the majority of the respondents prefer farm tourism spots because of their eco-friendly nature. Among the dimensions of service quality, empathy has the highest mean score, which is followed by assurance and responsiveness. The result further shows a significant difference between domestic and foreign tourists regarding their perception towards various dimensions of service quality. The study also highlighted a significant positive relationship between service quality dimensions and tourist satisfaction. The outcome of the study can be used for improving the service quality of farm tourism spots in Kerala. Tourism planners can take the findings of the study to develop marketing strategies to attract new tourists and retain existing tourists.

Analysing the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in selected private banks services at Chennai City

The private Banking segment and its performance play an important place in a financial system. The present circumstances of the Indian banking sector is very powerful and competitive. Consumers nowadays are extremely responsive to various financial services and institutions. Service quality is a necessary spirited approach toward maintaining customer support. It plays a central position in the receipt of customer fulfillment. Banks are making strenuous efforts to improve consumer satisfaction by providing higher-quality services. In the bank sector, service quality has become consumer faithfulness and the common maintenance rate of consumers. Reliability, security, and empathy have always played a fundamental role in the determinants of service quality. The service qualities of private banks have been measured with the SERVQUAL method [service quality]. Therefore, many companies are growing attention to developing their service quality. This study report will examine the level of service quality with customer satisfaction in the banking sector. It will examine the significance of service satisfaction, meeting customer expectations, and various dimensions of service quality offered by a bank. This study is analytically based on the primary data and secondary data, Primary data was collected from customers of private sector banks in Chennai.

The Influence of Service Quality Delivery on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty in the Face of the Banking Crisis in Ghana.

The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether there is an association between service quality and customer satisfaction. It is also to see whether there is a linear relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Though there has been some studies conducted within the Banking system about service quality and customer satisfaction, none of them has demonstrated how service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are interrelated in the banking industry of Ghana. There is therefore a gap in literature and this has motivated the researcher to conduct this study in the face of the banking crisis in Ghana. A survey was conducted in the greater Accra region of Ghana. The research targeted customers of all the various banks operating in Accra. Both correlation and regression analyses were conducted to establish the various associations amongst the variables of interest. Cronbach alpha analysis was also conducted to test the reliability of the scale items. It was established that , technology ease of usage and reliability, technology security and information quality, technology convenience, customer service, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are strongly associated. The various dimensions of service quality have significant positive influence on customer satisfaction. Then also, Customer satisfaction enhances customer loyalty. The present research shows what banks should do to satisfy their customers and ultimately retain them. Keywords: Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty, Banks, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/ EJBM /1 3 -1 6 -0 9 Publication date: August 31 st 2021

Using text mining to measure mobile banking service quality

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose a method of measuring service quality as well as suggesting to detect customer complaints through analysis of customer online reviews of mobile bank, which is unstructured data.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses text mining approach for customer online reviews analysis. The research procedure includes: (1) extracting users' reviews for Kakao Mobile Bank, (2) pre-processing of the extracted review data, (3) analyzing the sentiment of each review, (4) measuring the service quality score of each dimension by analyzing keyword frequency and network for each polarity, (5) evaluating total score for mobile bank service quality, and (6) detecting customer complaints on online reviews.FindingsThere are some findings. First, from the customer's point of view, it was possible to see which factors are important among the various dimensions of service quality and which factors should be managed well in mobile banking setting. Second, by periodically finding customer complaints, service failures can be prevented early, and service quality and customer satisfaction can be improved.Practical implicationsFrom a practical point of view, mobile bank managers should pay more attention to the service quality dimensions of practicality and enjoyment. In addition, the results mean that the app design and aesthetics with the most negative reviews should be reviewed from the user's perspective rather than from the company's point of view. Second, it is possible for them to establish a systematic complaint management system that can prevent service failure in advance by detecting customer complaints early. Third, it is possible for them to make quick decisions regarding service quality with the help of real-time customer response through dashboard construction.Originality/valueThis paper is a pioneer study measuring service quality with sentiment analysis, one of the text mining applications, using customers' reviews of a mobile bank.

Hospital service quality based on HEALTHQUAL model and trusting nurses at Iranian university and non-university hospitals: a comparative study

BackgroundEstablishment and improvement of patients’ trust in healthcare organizations like hospitals necessitate delivery of high-quality services by nurses, as the largest group of healthcare providers. The present study aimed to compare hospital service quality based on the HEALTHQUAL model and trusting nurses at university and non-university hospitals in Iran.MethodsThis comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 990 patients admitted to university and non-university hospitals located in Bushehr Province, southern Iran, who were selected using the stratified random sampling method. The data were collected through the HEALTHQUAL questionnaire and the Trust in Nurses Scale, and then analyzed via the SPSS Statistics software (version 22) as well as the General Linear Model (GLM) univariate procedure and the Chi-square test with a significance level of 0.05.ResultsThe study findings revealed that the mean values of real quality (perceptions) and ideal quality (expectations) were 3.89 ± 0.69 and 4.55 ± 0.47, respectively. The gap between the real and ideal quality (− 0.64) was also larger at non-university hospitals from the patients’ viewpoints. Comparing various dimensions of service quality, the largest gap at university and non-university hospitals was associated with “environment” (− 0.13) and “empathy” (− 0.18), respectively. Additionally, the mean scores of the patient trust in nurses at university and non-university hospitals were 10.34 ± 5.81 and 8.71 ± 4.05, respectively, being a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe study results demonstrated that hospital service quality and trusting in nurses were at higher levels at the university hospital than the non-university one; however, hospital service quality was at a lower level than what the patients had expected. Accordingly, hospital managers and policy-makers were suggested to focus on patients to reduce gaps in service quality, to promote service quality, and to provide better healthcare services to patients.

Investigating the Effect of Service Quality on Bank Customers’ Satisfaction in Bangladesh

In this competitive era, it has become a prerequisite for the financial firms providing banking services to understand and meet the customers' needs and demands to remain competitive in today's market environment. Without satisfying the customers, banking business cannot stand alone. To satisfy customers, it is often recommended to provide better quality banking services to the bank customers. Providing quality banking services has become a prime strategic tool for the banking sector nowadays. Therefore, the study investigates the effect of various dimensions of service quality of banking service on customer satisfaction in a developing country, Bangladesh. A total of 212 walking Bangladeshi banking customers participated in this research. A structured questionnaire was developed based on past research. SPSS is utilized for analysis and Likert scale was used in this study. Internal consistency of all items was found correct and a total of seven hypotheses were proposed. For testing, a 5% significance level is considered for acceptance of hypothesis. The findings show that, except employee competency, all other variables such as reliability, assurance, tangibles, responsiveness, empathy, and access to service have positive influence on customer satisfaction. The study provides policy implications for the management boards of the banking sectors.

Evaluation of Customer Satisfaction about the Provided Services by EGYPTAIR Tourism and Duty Free

The success of airlines depends majorly on the ability to identify customer perception, expectation to achieve customer satisfaction. This paper aims to assess the quality of service provided by EGYPTAIR tourism and duty-free and its impact on customer satisfaction. To achieve that, this research employed a method of descriptive-analytical methodology by using an e- questionnaire tool. The sample was customers in EGYPTAIR tourism and duty-free. 255 questionnaires were administered; only (228) returned questionnaires were valid for the statistical manipulation of data with a response rate of 89.5 % from the total distributed questionnaires in social media. The results of the tools were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, coefficient analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and regression analysis with the support of SPSS v.22. The research reached several results, Findings of this study revealed that all five dimensions of the SERVQUAL scale i.e. Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy have a positive, direct and significant impact on customer satisfaction of EGYPTAIR tourism and duty-free. The results of the study indicated a strong positive correlation between the dimensions of service quality (tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) and customer satisfaction. It can be concluded from this that EGYPTAIR tourism’s customer satisfaction can be increased by improving the service quality of all its dimensions. It is expected that findings of this study will help airlines to understand the role of various dimensions of service quality for enhancing their customer satisfaction. The research thus recommended Egypt Air Tourism & Duty-Free should develop its services with high quality at a reasonable price to help EGYPTAIR Tourism and Duty-free to compete and maintain customers.

Service Quality aspects of Solar Project Management

With the ever increasing component of services in a Solar Project, there is a need to do Service Quality studies. With the growing complexities of Engineering – Procurement –Construction (E-P-C) route of Solar Projects, the value of services has climbed up to the present level between 30 to 40 of the project cost, progressively, from a level of 10 to 20%, say 20 to 30 years ago. This situation in turn highlights theplace of a Solar Project in Tangibility Spectrum,[1]which is shifting more towards services and away from Products. Apart from the various Service Quality concepts and Models, SERVQUAL Model[2] by A.Parasuraman et al. and The Gummesson 4Q Model[3] of Offering Quality could be taken up for further surveys and studies , with a view to manage efficiently and effectively, a Solar Project offering. Service Quality is a function of a range of resources and activities. The aim is to establish any variance in how the different stake holders perceived and rated the various dimensions of service quality during thevarious stages of a Project Life Cycle. By developing organization’s own unique service culture and delivering a better quality of service, it should be possible to encourage client loyalty and repeat business.

Do social networking platforms promote service quality and purchase intention of customers of service-providing organizations?

Purpose Customers are interested in finding service recommendations, reviews and word of mouth using social networking platforms. These service reviews are useful for enhancing service quality, level of information and engagement, and purchase intention of customers. The purpose of this paper is to uncover which social networking platform is more useful for the exchange of service reviews and how organizations are improving purchase intention as well as service quality in the light of customer’s reviews/experiences. Design/methodology/approach The study is exploratory in nature because it aims to understand the use of social networking platforms for enhancing service quality and the purchase intention of customers using a purposive sampling technique. To meet the objective of this study, non-directive and semi-structured interviews have been conducted with customers and marketing teams in the banking sector and internet service providers. Findings The results show that social networking websites are helpful in fostering responsiveness, awareness, assurance, reliability and empathy. However, respondents revealed serious concerns regarding the privacy of personal and financial information especially in the context of the banking sector. It has been found that official Facebook pages of service-providing organizations, open and closed local community Facebook groups, sponsored ads and promotional advertisements on Facebook, WhatsApp groups and YouTube video comments are more frequently used to exchange service reviews (i.e. influence the process of purchase decision) among friends, friends of friends, family members and the general public. The selected customers and market team respondents revealed that local community Facebook groups (i.e. open groups and closed groups) have gained prime importance for enhancing service quality and purchase decisions. Practical implications The effective and well-organized use of social networking platforms can foster service reviews, word of mouth, level of service awareness, interactive communication, intention to purchase, social influence, social trust and services quality. Furthermore, online social networking platforms require a lower level of advertisement costs and offer huge amounts of information, discussions, enquires, service stories, word of mouth, transactions and interactions of consumers. Originality/value The present study is exploratory in nature because it selects an under-researched issue regarding the use of social networking applications to enhance levels of purchase intention and service quality. There is limited literature which has combined the multiple constructs in a single study (i.e. social media platforms, cross-platform platforms, service quality and purchase intention of consumers). Most of the previous studies are dependent on various dimensions of service quality (i.e. “reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empath and tangibles”). However, the present study extracted that respondents have given more preferences of services awareness and privacy compared to traditional elements of service quality.

Service quality of property managers of shopping complexes in Ibadan, Nigeria

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the service quality (SQ) of property managers of shopping complexes in Ibadan with a view to improving management practice.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were used for the study through questionnaire administration. Ibadan was stratified into five axes using existing major roads where shopping complexes were highly concentrated. From each axis, 33, 65, 48, 64 and 66 shopping complexes were identified (Oyo State Ministry of Land, Housing and Survey, 2017), and the systematic sampling technique (20 percent) was adopted to select 57 out of 276 shopping complexes and 192 (10 percent) out of 1919 occupiers of the shopping complexes in the study area. In total, 157 occupiers responded to the questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using mean ranking and stepwise multiple regression.FindingsThis study found that professionalism, tangible, assurance and empathy dimensions of SQ were rated fair, whereas reliability and responsiveness dimensions were rated poor. Also, stepwise multiple regression analysis predicted 78.5 percent overall SQ of property managers, and assurance, professionalism and empathy dimensions contributed significantly to the overall SQ. Hence, reliability and responsiveness dimensions of SQ need to be improved. It is expected that the findings of this study will help property managers to understand the role of various dimensions of SQ for enhanced property management practice.Originality/valueThe study is one of the few studies that assessed the SQ of property managers of shopping complex with a view to improving its management practice.

A Model of Service Marketing in Port Services: Empirical Study in PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II (Persero), Tanjung Priok Branch

Port of Tanjung Priok is one of the ports in Indonesia which has the potential to be developed into an international seaport with the level of activity and the capacity of loading and unloading. This study aims to understand the key variables that determine the service quality of the port, so as to achieve customer satisfaction and loyalty. By using Structural Equation Modeling, this study analyzes the effects of various dimensions of service quality to customer satisfaction, and the relationships formed between perceived value and customer loyalty of the port service industry in Indonesia. The sampling method used was stratified random sampling with a total of 406 respondents. The results show positive relationships between the variables. This implies that service quality is an important aspect to focus on in order for Port of Tanjung Priok to achieve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Application of RIDIT Analysis in Prioritizing Perceived Service Quality Dimensions of Management Graduates in Indian Universities

The transformations in the present socioeconomic situation have compelled the management education in the higher-education sector to behave as a business entity. They are required to focus more on delivering superior quality of educational services to the students. The universities are forced to recognize and give emphasis to the factors which are influencing students' satisfaction and their future behavioural intentions. Based on these prevailing facts, the present study tried to explore the various dimensions of service quality as perceived by the management graduates of public universities. Further, the study attempted to prioritize the dimensions along with their items to draw meaningful conclusions for the management education sector. The study analyzed survey responses of 401 management graduates using factor analysis in order to diagnose the underlying relationships between the questionnaire items. These resulted in formation of related groups by the items and were named according to their collective characteristics. The study also employed the RIDIT analysis methodology independently to establish the relative importance of each item to the management graduates who participated in the survey. Based on the RIDIT analysis results, a priority ranking was allotted to each individual item. An analysis interpretation was then carried out to find out the extent to which the items grouped into each particular factor tended to have low or high priority rankings. The results of the study may be obliging to the university managers, particularly in a management education setting, to focus their strategies and plan their efforts in line with the findings to gain superior students'/graduates' satisfaction and favourable future behavioural intentions.

Impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in Malaysia airlines: A PLS-SEM approach

This study is aimed to assess the quality of service provided by Malaysia Airlines and its impact on overall customer satisfaction. This study employed a convenience sampling method for collecting data from 460 respondents using a self-administered questionnaire, designed on five dimensions of AIRQUAL scale. Moreover, variance based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for testing the proposed structural model. Findings of this study revealed that all five dimensions of AIRQUAL scale i.e. airline tangibles; terminal tangibles; personnel services; empathy and image have a positive, direct and significant impact on customer satisfaction of Malaysia Airlines. This study investigated the impact of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction in Malaysia Airlines. Due to limited resources and time constraints this study involves respondents from Malaysia Airlines only; for that reason a comparative analysis of findings with other airlines was not possible; therefore it is considered a limitation of this study. Moreover, importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) was also performed for exploring the importance of various dimensions of service quality. Findings indicate that airlines should focus on all dimensions of service quality, with special focus on personnel services and image for enhancing their customer satisfaction. It is expected that findings of this study will help airlines to understand the role of various dimensions of service quality for enhancing their customer satisfaction.

Banking service quality provided by commercial banks and customer satisfaction. A structural equation modelling approaches

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the constructs of service quality and customer satisfaction in commercial banks operating in Jordan. The study finds that the order of importance of the dimensions of service quality tested here is: assurance; reliability; tangibles; empathy; and responsiveness. Customers' satisfactions are mostly influenced by the service quality. Customers indicated high satisfaction with the five dimensions of service quality. This finding reinforces the need for banks managers to place an emphasis on the underlying dimensions of service quality, especially on assurance, and should start with improving service quality in order to raise customer satisfaction. Managers should be aware that, among the various dimensions of service quality, assurance was especially significant in fostering satisfaction for the customers of Jordanian commercial banks. It is apparent that focusing on delivering high quality services, and improve service quality effectively is critical for customer satisfaction.

Prosumer motivations for electronic word-of-mouth communication behaviors

Purpose“Prosumers” (combining “producer” and “consumers”) describes consumers’ ability to openly share their product/service experiences and thereby drive sales and digital marketing. Understanding what motivates active prosumers to engage in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and share or review their hotel experiences online can help organizations empathize with consumers and use their messages to co-create value. Identifying prosumers’ motivators can enable companies to properly target them as resources for review or consumer feedback studies. This paper aims to investigate the influence of motivators (intrinsic and extrinsic), service quality and age on consumers’ eWOM communication behaviors.Design/methodology/approachA panel of 204 travelers was surveyed regarding their hotel travel experiences, propensity to write online reviews, preferred review-writing platform, motivations for writing reviews and impressions of service quality. To test the hypotheses, a multivariate regression analysis was performed with eWOM as the dependent variable. Differences in eWOM as a function of preferred review platform were also tested using ANOVA, with a multiple comparison analysis that underlines the differences between prosumers who prefer different types of review platforms and their eWOM behaviors.FindingsBoth intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, as well as service reliability, had a significant influence on eWOM behavior, while service tangibility had a negative relationship. Additionally, prosumers’ engagement in eWOM about their hospitality experience differed according to their preferred review platform.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the analysis underline the importance of consumer motivations and of satisfaction with service quality in the context of digital review behavior. For marketing and hospitality research, this shows the benefits of including not only individual characteristics and demographics when analyzing review behavior but also elements such as perceptions of service quality. Given the differences in how the dimensions of service quality affect consumers’ engagement in online review behavior, this represents a very important topic for research and can be included in future studies that analyze the consumer review behavior model.Practical implicationsRegarding the implications for practitioners, this study highlights the important role played by consumer satisfaction with service in the hospitality industry and its effect on their involvement in online reviews. Managers should be focused constantly on offering great service to their guests, while, at the same time, offering them motivations to engage in posting positive reviews about their vacation. Moreover, as the results of this study imply that various dimensions of service quality have a different impact, managers should focus especially on the aspects that consumers consider important and constantly include in their reviews, such as the tangibles dimension. The results of this study also have the potential to provide to businesses more information to improve the social aspects of vacationing, which can not only improve perceptions about service quality but can also have a positive influence on consumers’ motivations.Originality/valueThis paper develops a better understanding of what motivates people to engage in the eWOM communication behavior of writing online hotel reviews, by showing the effect of consumer motivations and service quality variables on prosumers’ engagement in online review behavior.

A Holistic Framework for Conceptualizing Hospital Service Quality

Managing service quality has always been one of the most important areas of concern in hospitals. With the advancement of lifestyle, education and awareness among consumers, they are becoming more and more demanding. This is the reason why hospitals are spending huge amount in managing service quality that leads to satisfaction among patients and ultimately contributes in brand building. Thus the first and most important consideration is to determine and understand the various dimensions of service quality in the perspective of hospitals. Many researchers have studied these dimensions of hospital service quality but none of the studies cover all the possible areas of service quality management in a hospital set-up. This study aims to critically review the work of different researchers to determine and define the dimensions that would cover all areas of service quality management in hospitals. This study has developed a conceptual framework of hospital service quality by identifying 15 different dimensions: infrastructure, resource availability, waiting time, food, clinical procedures, administrative procedures, price, trustworthiness, information availability, patient safety, continuity, personalized attention, staff attitude, quality of outcome and religious needs. These 15 dimensions are further clubbed under three broad dimensions such as ‘infrastructural dimension’, ‘procedural dimension’ and ‘interactional dimension’. These dimensions can be used for measuring service quality management practices followed across different categories of hospitals like public and private or multi-specialty and super-specialty.

Finance Bank Zambia Plc Retail Customers' Perceptions of Service Quality

The study examined the nature of factors that influence customer’s perception of service quality provided by Finance Bank Zambia Plc. is a private sector indigenous bank in the country. This is an analytical study based mainly on the primary data collected through a scientifically developed questionnaire and secondary information sources. Based on the outcomes originating from the literature review, this research has used a modified SERVQUAL scale. The questionnaire to customers was administered on a sample size of 357, chosen on a convenient basis across the branch network. These statistical methods used are as follows: frequencies - to describe the respondent’s characteristics; means - to identify level of perception (questionnaire statements); Independent-Samples T-Test - to identify the significance of differences in the means of retail customers and branch staff perceptions of service quality; factor analysis: to identify the differences between customers and bank branch staff in terms of the degree of importance they attached to various dimensions of service quality and Cronbach’s coefficient alpha test: to examine scale reliability and internal consistency. All factors namely tangibility, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, image, convenience reliability, access and ATM effectiveness qualified to be designated as important because their mean index scores were above 2 and 50% or more of respondents affirmed them to be either 4-very important or 3-important.