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1 – 10 of over 113000Avichai Shuv-Ami and Tamar Shalom
The purpose of this paper is to test three visual, demographically based perceptions of service quality at several emergency rooms (ERs) of hospital organizations in Israel.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test three visual, demographically based perceptions of service quality at several emergency rooms (ERs) of hospital organizations in Israel.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is based on the evaluations of 1,002 people who accompanied a patient to hospital ERs in Israel. The data were collected randomly from an internet panel that comprised more than 50,000 people aged over 18 years.
Findings
The findings showed that female patients were perceived as receiving significantly lower service quality than males; elderly patients were treated well by medical staff, and treatment was similar to all other adult groups; children were perceived as receiving the best service; and religious individuals perceived service quality in ERs at a higher level than non-religious patients.
Research limitations/implications
The current study uses a service quality scale derived from a marketing scale that was modified to study the quality of service in hospital ERs. The current study measures only differences in visual demographics.
Originality/value
This paper attempts to provide the ER staff of hospital organizations with some knowledge about the ways which their service is perceived and encourages a more sensitive attitude toward their patients’ needs. This may influence the hospital customer satisfaction and the hospital financial bottom-line.
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Md. Abdur Rouf, Mostafa Kamal and Mohammed Masum Iqbal
The main purpose of the study is to find out the customer perception of service quality of banking sectors in Bangladesh and measure their relations with regard to the customer…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of the study is to find out the customer perception of service quality of banking sectors in Bangladesh and measure their relations with regard to the customer personal characteristics like gender, age, education and occupation.
Design/methodology/approach
The research method applied in this study is random sampling survey method. The data are analysed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, t-test and f-test.
Findings
The findings indicate that the overall customer perception is neutral level. Aspect like gender, age and occupation are found to be statistically significant, and education is not statistically significant.
Originality/value
The findings of the study will be a benchmark or the board for policymakers and implementers in torching the avenues of improvement in raising the level of customer satisfaction.
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Monica B. Fine, John Gironda and Maria Petrescu
“Prosumers” (combining “producer” and “consumers”) describes consumers’ ability to openly share their product/service experiences and thereby drive sales and digital marketing…
Abstract
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/approach
A 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.
Findings
Both 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/implications
The 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 implications
Regarding 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/value
This 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.
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Mohammed Hersi Warsame and Edward Mugambi Ireri
The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect moderation effects of demographic and socio-economic(s) factors on the adoption of Islamic banking in UAE.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect moderation effects of demographic and socio-economic(s) factors on the adoption of Islamic banking in UAE.
Design/methodology/approach
Convenience sampling was done on the residents of Sharjah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. A closed-ended questionnaire with 30 items was designed and pre-tested before the start of the study. Path analysis and moderation testing were the main analytical approach. A total of 320 respondents completed the survey.
Findings
The research revealed that demographic and socio-economic(s) moderators may have direct and indirect moderation effects on the adoption of the Islamic banking in the UAE, which indicates the importance of these factors in the provision of Islamic banking products and services in the UAE.
Practical implications
This study further revealed that these moderators have huge practical implications for Islamic bank managers and marketers as they can exploit these demographics to enhance their market share in the UAE.
Social implications
In UAE, minimal attention has been directed toward the role moderators would play in the criterion that individual investors would use in the adoption of Islamic banking products and services in a cosmopolitan environment that is experiencing competition from conventional banks.
Originality/value
An extensive review of the existing literature on the adoption of Islamic banking reveals that no empirical research has been undertaken to explore the role played by demographic and socio-economic(s) moderators in the adoption of Islamic banking in UAE and internationally. This study attempts to fill this gap.
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Akram Al-jazzazi and Parves Sultan
The purpose of this paper is to assess differences in banking service quality (BSQ) perceptions across demographic subgroups of Islamic and conventional Jordanian banking…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess differences in banking service quality (BSQ) perceptions across demographic subgroups of Islamic and conventional Jordanian banking consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected using surveys. The survey contains items for three different measures of overall BSQ perceptions. The researchers mailed surveys to a random sample of 2,000 banking customers in Jordan. Responses to questionnaire items measuring respondents’ BSQ perceptions were analysed using one-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s honest significant difference post hoc tests to assess subgroup differences in six demographic variables: gender, age, occupation, income, education, and religion.
Findings
BSQ perceptions are significantly different in four of the six demographic variables. Age and education do not impact on BSQ perceptions.
Research limitations/implications
The findings indicate demographic effects on Jordanian banking consumers’ perceived BSQ. Study limitations include demographic subgroup underrepresentation and survey structure. Future research should obtain a more representative sample for better generalisability.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that Jordanian banks should structure their services to best accommodate their customers’ demographics. In addition, banks can use the findings to guide the development of demographic-driven marketing to target and attract customers efficiently.
Originality/value
This study is the first to investigate demographic differences in the perceived service quality of Jordan’s Islamic and conventional banking customers. The findings can contribute to future research on BSQ, and guide Jordan’s banking management towards more effective marketing and service provision.
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Liz Gill, Lesley White and Ian Cameron
This paper synthesises the literature on the issues related to the older patient, health service quality and its measurement. It discusses the need to consider these perspectives…
Abstract
This paper synthesises the literature on the issues related to the older patient, health service quality and its measurement. It discusses the need to consider these perspectives in the definition and assessment of quality of a community‐focused aged healthcare programme, and critically examines the existing evaluation of quality in healthcare, contrasting the patient's role and impact on the quality of the service and its outcome. The paper then reviews the documented problems associated with using satisfaction as an indicator of the patient's view of quality. An alternate validated approach to measuring the patient's perception of the quality of the service is identified in the services literature; this multidimensional hierarchical tool and scale, which specifically measures the patient's view of quality, is presented. The tool covers nine sub‐dimensions, four dimensions and the global perspective of quality as perceived by the patient. An adaptation of this tool is presented to measure the patient's view of quality using the relatively new Transition Aged Care programme as an example, and make the argument for the holistic measurement of transitional aged care quality, using a validated and reliable patient‐specific tool. Importantly, the paper proposes that the identification of the patient view of service quality will offer information that could specifically assist with service improvement.
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This study aimed to examine young, middle-aged and mature air-travelers’ perceptions of the quality levels of in-flight physical surroundings and service encounters, and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to examine young, middle-aged and mature air-travelers’ perceptions of the quality levels of in-flight physical surroundings and service encounters, and investigated the drivers of their repurchase intentions in the low-cost airline industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 402 passengers on international flights was used. An ANOVA and a series of multiple-regression analyses based on Baron and Kenny’s (1986) suggestion were used.
Findings
In general, significant differences in quality attributes were identified across age groups. Additionally, the role of these quality components, perceived level of the airfare and trust in the airline were found to be decisive in low-cost airline passengers’ decision formation. Further, the mediating impact of perceived level of the airfare and trust was identified.
Originality/value
Research about air-travelers’ decision formation by considering their age is rare in a low-cost airline context. Results of the present study provided meaningful insights for researchers and practitioners in the airline industry.
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Anne Hogden, David Greenfield, Mark Brandon, Deborah Debono, Virginia Mumford, Johanna Westbrook and Jeffrey Braithwaite
Quality of care in the residential aged sector has changed over the past decade. The purpose of this paper is to examine these changes from the perspectives of staff to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
Quality of care in the residential aged sector has changed over the past decade. The purpose of this paper is to examine these changes from the perspectives of staff to identify factors influencing quality of residential aged care, and the role and influence of an aged care accreditation programme.
Design/methodology/approach
Focus groups were held with 66 aged care staff from 11 Australian aged care facilities. Data from semi-structured interviews were analysed to capture categories representing participant views.
Findings
Participants reported two factors stimulating change: developments in the aged care regulatory and policy framework, and rising consumer expectations. Four corresponding effects on service quality were identified: increasing complexity of resident care, renewed built environments of aged care facilities, growing focus on resident-centred care and the influence of accreditation on resident quality of life. The accreditation programme was viewed as maintaining minimum standards of quality throughout regulatory and social change, yet was considered to lack capacity of itself to explicitly promote or improve resident quality of life.
Research limitations/implications
For an increasingly complex aged care population, regulatory and societal change has led to a shift in service provision from institutional care models to one that is becoming more responsive to consumer expectations. The capacity of long-established and relatively static accreditation standards to better accommodate changing consumer needs comes into question.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the relationship between accreditation and residential aged care service quality from the perspectives of staff, and offers a nuanced view of “quality” in this setting.
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Karolina Wägar and Lars‐Johan Lindqvist
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether older customers prefer older customer‐contact persons and whether younger customers prefer younger customer‐contact persons in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether older customers prefer older customer‐contact persons and whether younger customers prefer younger customer‐contact persons in a variety of service settings with different search, experience, and credence qualities.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a statistical analysis of data from a survey of younger and older Finnish customers using a structured questionnaire.
Findings
Older customers prefer older customer‐contact persons to younger customer‐contact persons in all the studied service settings. Younger customers prefer younger customer‐contact persons to older customer‐contact persons in all the studied service settings, with the exception of services high in credence qualities – in which they preferred older customer‐contact persons.
Practical implications
Age is a relevant factor in service design. Service providers therefore need to: take age into account in service design: adapt their service offerings according to the age of the clientele; and consider having both younger and older customer‐contact persons in their workforce.
Originality/value
Research into the role of age in service encounters is scarce. This study contributes to the field of services marketing by investigating this issue. The study provides empirical support for the commonly accepted presumption that customer‐contact persons closer in age to the customer are perceived by the customer as being better at adapting service.
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