Analysing the Use of the SERVQUAL Model to Measure Service Quality in Specific-Industry Contexts
Mr. Tameem Al Bassam PhD Researcher tameem.albassam@brunel.ac.uk Information Systems Evaluation and Integration Group (ISEing) Brunel Business School Brunel University Uxbridge, UB8 3PH Middlesex UK Phone: +44 (0) 1895266025 Dr. Sarmad Al Shawi Lecturer sarmad.alshawi@brunel.ac.uk Information Systems Evaluation and Integration Group (ISEing) Brunel Business School Brunel University Uxbridge, UB8 3PH Middlesex UK Phone: +44 (0) 1895266025
Analysing the Use of the SERVQUAL Model to Measure Service Quality in Specific-Industry Contexts
The survival of any organisation in a highly competitive environment depends on its ability to provide
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As a result, Ladhari (2008, p. 68) stated that “It has been suggested that industryspecific measures of service quality might be more appropriate than a single generic scale”. This argument was supported by Dabholkar et al. (1996, p. 14) who stated that “It appears that a measure of service quality across industries is not feasible; therefore, future research on service quality should involve the development of industry-specific measures of service quality”. Ladhari (2008) reported that in recent years, more attention was paid by researchers and scholars toward the development of an alternative industry-specific research instruments for measuring service quality. Consequently, a number of industry-specific research instruments have been developed in the past several years in different service settings and various countries and cultural backgrounds.
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Research Approach
Saunders et al. (2007, p. 610) defined research as "the systematic collection and interpretation of information with a clear purpose, to find things out". The key issue when choosing a correct research methodology approach to examine and explore a particular research problem is the suitability of the selected method to accomplish and address the research objectives. Quantitative research, qualitative research, and mixed research methodologies are the main methodological approaches used in most academic research. Each approach has its advantages and limitations
Research methodology is conceptualised as the overall approach of the investigator to achieve the aim and objectives of the research study (Saunders et al, 2012). The literature has pointed out that effectiveness and efficiency of research methodology has a direct impact on its feasibility, reliability and authenticity (Bryman & Bell, 2015). This is the reason, it is proposed that standardised frameworks should be used to develop overall research strategy that is optimised for the aim and objectives of any given research.
Service quality is one area which was studied extensively for the past four decades. In the field of service marketing, there are many definition for service quality. Parasuraman et al, (1988) defines service quality as a discrepancy between customers’ expectation and perception of a service or service experience and this is basically the perceived service quality. Based on this concept, Parasuraman et al. (1985), developed a model known as the SERVQUAL. The SERVQUAL model is based on 22-item scale and it measures service quality based on five dimensions which are reliability, responsiveness, tangibility, assurance and empathy. According to Parasuraman et. al (1985) these five dimension are generic and they are applicable across the industries. However, there are some critics to this model also such as Gronroos (1990) and Mangold and Babakus (1991) who opines that SERVQUAL solely focuses on the service delivery process while neglecting the outcome of the service. Interestingly, the inventors of SERVQUAL suggested the importance of both the functional and technical aspect of service quality in the model (Parasuraman et.al, 1985). However, they didn’t include the technical aspect but it in the instrument. The emphasis on the functional aspect is basically the American school which was
Researchers often times are faced with the decision of choosing a methodology of research; either Quantitative or Qualitative that they think best fits their study and objectives. This choice is guarded by the topic of study, the advantages and disadvantages, and the strengths and weaknesses of using either one or the other type of the methodologies.
This paper, will discuss the processes of verbal and nonverbal communication, including associated components of each, the differences between listening and hearing regarding communications. Also covered will be the formal and informal channels of communication that may be used within criminal justice organizations and implemented strategies used to overcome communication barriers therein. Verbal and nonverbal communication are the two main divisions of communication, and each specific realm deals with its own unique subject matters, symbols, behaviors, and processes.
Brandy and Cronin (2001) introduced their own dimensions of service quality which are 1.) service environment, 2.) customer-employee interaction, and 3.) service outcome. These dimensions are considered the sources of quality of a service. Different dimensions of service quality have been introduced and accepted in past researches and studies but the 5 dimensions of Zeithaml et al., (1988) were proved to be the most reliable and credible. One of the most important strategies service providers can use to position themselves effectively in a competitive environment, and to distinguish themselves from competitors, is to provide and improve service quality to ensure the customer satisfaction (Cronin & Taylor,
Being in this business as a researcher, you must stay focus at all times, and at this time we must concentrate on the design strategies for each of the research methodologies. It must include everything that can help to produce a positive research, elements of inquiry, research approaches, and overall design of the research being conducted. We have to determine all the different types of research methodologies that are used in doing research. We must realize the importance of integrating the different method types so that we can continue to construct precise, decisive, and fitting data. As we get into the
Communication is important in any industry. There are many forms of communication and it is constantly evolving. One such field that communication is important in is physical therapy. There is constant interaction between patients, physical therapists, physical therapists assistants, other employees, other health professionals, etc. This report will look at communication within different levels of employment, non-verbal and verbal communication, communication impacted by the audience, technology, interpersonal skills, and feedback.
Before I started taking this class I almost feel as if I was blind to the various aspects of communication compared to now. Almost after every slide I try to relate each topic to a facet I have seen it in my life, it is not hard to do so considering we are receiving or providing a form of communication majority of the time. The two topics of communications I will be talking about are non-verbal and verbal communication.
I believe nonverbal communication has more meaning then most think. Non-verbal communication continues to be a significant factor contributing towards the day of our daily lives. In terms of the workplace as well as style in addition to cultural variations nonverbal communication plays a crucial role in these areas. It provides the use of the human's subconscious mind to put together some facial expressions, the hand also gestures the usage of the human's vocal tones which triggers a kind of excellent communication in the case used at the proper fashion. For instance, when parents work with nonverbal communication to infant kids that are not even acquainted with spoken dialogue itself when efficient this may produce a kind of assurance to those infants that might, in turn, respond to the idea in a significantly good fashion. But there are additional symbols which many people don't spend attention very much to, symbols which talk in between the lines of regular chat and imply feelings, ideas, thoughts, and attitudes that remain unspoken. These kinds of symbols, known as nonverbal symbolic communication, are encountered, and employed by every one of us. Nevertheless, the most typical ones which others have utilized to speak with me - and the other way around - are haptics, proxemics, appearance, and body language.
Understanding their concepts will assure they are aligned with the culture they look to service, with respect and increase the chances of building strong relationships.
Communication, something we must do every time when we interact with other individuals, and it also plays a vital role when trying to understand the issues employees can be facing on the production floor. Most people think that we might use verbal communication the most, but the nonverbal communication is what is really being used when trying to express what we really mean. Therefore, by understanding someone’s body language can be extremely crucial, and how to comprehend the body language being used is imperative.
In my marriage or in my profession I understand that communication skills can lead to many great things. Communication skills can be recognizing, though, its nonverbal communication skills as well. I know in my profession on the average I well communicate with two-hundred and filthy people on any given day. My facial expressions, posture, gestures, eye contact, and my tone of voice which speaks the loudest give me the ability to communicate with the public. Eye contact is very crucial for me especially when and attractive women is on the other side of the counter and she is reveling too much. I supposed this is just human nature taking over. You ever ask yourself that women would make a bad pair of jeans look good. My ability to understand and use nonverbal communication , or body language, is a powerful tool that can help me connect with the customer , and express myself what I really mean, and it also gives me the ability to build relationships with the customers on their wants and needs.
This section illustrates the research approach used to collect and analyse the evidence for this research. There are two main approaches to a research problem, qualitative research and quantitative research. Quantitative is predominantly used as a synonym for any data collection technique (such as a questionnaire) or data analysis procedure (such as graphs or statistics) that generates or uses numerical data. In contrast, qualitative is used for any data collection technique (such as an interview) or data analysis procedure (such as categorising data) that generates or uses non-numerical data (Saunders, et al., 2007). Qualitative research includes techniques like case studies, interviews, personal observations and focus groups.
Generally speaking, the perceived service quality is a subjective term that captures the overall superiority of a product comparing with other products that satisfy the similar needs (Holbrook & Corfman, 1985). Sometimes, service quality interchanges with overall attitude whose definition is “a learned predisposition to respond to an object in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way” (Allport, 1935), and they are perceived as two similar terms to some researchers (Bitner, 1990; Zeithaml et al., 1988). Actually, either definition captures the subjective element in service quality. In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, some researchers argued that perceived service quality is based on the expectations and the actual service delivery (Boulding, Kalra, Staelin, & Zeithaml, 1993; Parasuraman et al., 1985), similar to the gap model in the customer satisfaction area (Olive, 1980). Specifically, expectations are customers’ subjective beliefs of the likely outcomes that a service provides (Oliver & Winer, 1987) while the actual service delivery is the objective factors that a service really provides (Boulding et al., 1993). The subjective nature of expectation and the subjective process in evaluating actual service delivery determine that service quality is a subjective term. Therefore, because of the heterogeneity (Edgett and Parkinson, 1993; Zeithaml et al., 1985), perceive service quality is difficult to improve with traditional quality control in service industry. In this
As a way of trying to measure service quality, researchers have developed a methodology known as SERVQUAL – a perceived service quality questionnaire survey