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The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to study the environmental and competitive factors in the service organizations and second, to investigate the extent of effective implementation of quality improvement initiatives in different operational settings.

In this paper factor analysis is used to determine the underlying factors associated with the changes in the competitive environment. Proportional measures are used to study the implementation of quality improvement initiatives.

The paper finds that quality improvement initiatives are not implemented uniformly by all the service industries. Organizations implementing quality improvement initiatives face varying degrees of effectiveness. Positive operational and strategic outcomes have been observed by organizations implementing the quality improvement initiatives.

The results of this paper show that implementation of different types of quality improvement initiatives has a positive impact on operational and strategic aspects of service organizations.

The empirical investigation in this paper shows the practical and theoretical value of issues related to the performance of service organizations.

The motel industry in Taiwan is a highly competitive industry, which requires considerable investment and demands innovative services. This paper aims to identify the competitive qualities that urgently require improvement to enhance the service quality of motels using the two-phase method of importance-performance and gap analysis (IPGA) and the Kano model, and develops specific improvement strategies.

By questionnaire survey, this study collects 562 valid questionnaires from motels in Taipei City. The IPGA and Kano model are used to identify the service attributes of market competitiveness that urgently require improvement.

The results show there are 14 attributes that should be urgently improved, of which four are the attractive qualities of market competitiveness (competitive qualities). This study develops ten improvement strategies, as based on the four competitive qualities, for the reference of the motel industry.

The results can identify the competitive qualities that require urgent improvement to address the development of improvement strategies for motels. The managers of motels can refer to the ten improvement strategies to create excellent and competitive motel services.

The results combine “customers’ needs” with “the competitive meanings of quality attributes in the market” under limited resources, to upgrade motel service quality, customers’ willingness to purchase and motel competitiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to study the EFQM model self‐assessment in a Spanish university.

A case study methodology is used based on five services provided by a public university in Spain.

The findings show the steps that one university can follow in order to apply this exercise in a successful manner, its benefits, its obstacles and its key factors such as management and employee commitment, and the support to self‐assessment teams (e.g. training, review).

The paper provides lessons for managers from other universities who wish to develop a self‐assessment exercise.

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on self‐assessment processes and to identify the difficulties, benefits and success factors of the European Foundation for Quality Management self‐assessment model, analysing the importance of follow‐up.

First, the paper carries out a literature review on self‐assessment, and then it uses the case study methodology based on ten services provided by a public university in Spain to identify difficulties, benefits and success factors of self‐assessment.

The findings show, first, what the literature suggests on self‐assessment in general and for higher education, and second, the difficulties, benefits and success factors and the importance of follow‐up for successful self‐assessment.

The paper provides a literature review on self‐assessment and lessons for managers from other universities, or other public sector organisations, who wish to know the difficulties, benefits and success factors, and the characteristics of follow‐up.

National and local policy supports the involvement of patients at all levels in the design, delivery and improvement of health services. Whilst existing approaches to support involvement have been described and disseminated, including the 4Pi National Involvement Standards, their application in quality improvement is rarely reported. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

A quality improvement initiative within a mental health trust was developed with a multi-disciplinary team, including those with professional experience of delivering or improving care and those with lived experience. The aim of the initiative was to improve the physical health of inpatients within an acute mental health unit. This case study aims to describe how the integration of concepts from the 4Pi National Involvement Standards (Principles, Purpose, Presence, Process and Impact) provided a framework for engaging and involving service users. The case study also aims to describe how co-design was included within the 4Pi approach and supported the development of a tool to aid improving physical healthcare.

The 4Pi National Involvement Standards provided a guiding framework for the involvement of service users within a quality improvement initiative. Value of the approach was realised through the co-design of a tool developed by service users, along with healthcare professionals, to facilitate discussion and support shared-decision making about inpatients’ physical health.

Identifying “ways that work” for service user involvement is crucial to move beyond the policy rhetoric or tokenistic involvement. Involvement in quality improvement initiatives can bring benefits both to services and the service users themselves.

Whilst the 4PI approach is recognised as a useful framework for involvement, few examples exist of its practical applications within a quality improvement setting.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of change pressure exerted by the “market” on governmental services in quality improvement processes. Two research questions are investigated. How can the role of external pressure exerted by customers and users, for quality improvement, be described and understood in governmental services? How can we understand the internal response (to external pressure exerted by customers and users, for change and quality improvement) as a strategic and cultural process?

This study focuses on two main levels: the operational level, where we analyse how the service offerings (or concepts) are designed to meet the needs (and changing needs) of the customers/citizens, the design of the service process, and the formation of the service system in terms of resources, organisational structure and culture; and the strategic level, where we analyse the interdependence between service strategy and service culture. Three cases originating from governmental services in Sweden form the empirical basis for the study.

First, the service concept must be in line with, and match, the target group to be served. If there is a gap the organisation will have an inherent quality problem. The second lesson is that the service process must be understood and accepted by both the employees and the users/customers. The results show that a lack of flexibility is a common reason behind quality problems. Involving customers more is one way of designing more flexibility. The third lesson is that the service system is also a question of the norms and values forming the basis for a service culture that supports the service process.

The article is based on just three cases from one country. More case studies are needed, and in different cultural contexts.

The pressure for change exerted in governmental organisations is not very different when compared to commercial service companies. Customers are most often the same people, with the same – or similar – needs, expectations and requirements. Quality is assessed in more or less the same way. The differences seem to surface when we take into consideration how external changes exert pressure for change within the organisation, and in the design and delivery of governmental services.

This article contributes to a theoretical point of departure for describing and analysing service quality improvement in a dynamic perspective, where both the key aspects of service strategy and service culture are taken into consideration. The empirical study shows that the framework is useful and produces fruitful empirical findings.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how financial institutions adopt business process improvement (BPI) for improving service quality, to enhance customer satisfaction. To explain this adoption, it was necessary to develop a theory to explain the linkages between BPI initiatives and customer satisfaction.

Case study was used as the research strategy, following the theory‐building process suggested by Eisenhardt. In total, three phases of data collection were employed, with expert interviews for theory enhancement and validation.

The authors identified three main stages of BPI adoption. A theory model was developed and refined using the empirical findings, to provide understanding of the outcomes of BPI initiatives. This model is compared with existing service quality models.

The research outcomes represent an extension of existing service quality approaches, to consider the BPI adoption process as well as broader organisational issues. However, data were collected only from Thai financial institutions, which might impact the generalisation of the results.

The proposed theory model is developed at an operational level, and specifically aims to provide managers with adoption guidance and a practical foundation for further development of operational‐level assessment, assisting a more systematic evaluation of the outcomes of specific BPI initiatives at the project level.

The paper provides empirical evidence of BPI adoption in a financial services context. A theory model is presented based on service quality principles, to help explain BPI adoption outcomes at an operational (e.g. project) level, which provides a different perspective to that of existing service quality models.

This research takes Taijiang National Park (TNP) tourists as the study population while gathering the survey data via an online questionnaire. For the data analyses, it uses the importance–performance analysis (IPA) and the Kano two-dimensional quality model to evaluate the tourist satisfaction of TNP. Specifically, it considers the importance of service quality, classifies its service quality attributes, and suggests the priority for service improvement, rendering the TNP valuable reference points to realign service strategies. The study shows that the service quality attributes related to service personnel are the priority item to be improved, which could eventually enhance tourist satisfaction. In addition, brand differentiation could be achieved by improving the attractive quality items identified in this study to enhance tourist loyalty.

Human Sigma is an emerging topic among many academics and practitioners. At present, limited studies have been reported about the successful applications of Human Sigma in small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper therefore is to provide an analysis of contemporary business improvement tool implementation in UK tourism SMEs.

This paper presents an exploratory study of the Human Sigma approach to business improvement. Particularly, the research offers an overview of approaches to business improvement, whilst also presenting a framework for the implementation of Human Sigma. Adopting a case study of tourism SMEs, the paper examines attitudes to service quality management in terms of the implementation of business improvement tools.

The results of the study reveal that many of the SMEs are not aware of the Human Sigma approach to business improvement and while there is a range of tools, techniques and approaches available, they perceive several key barriers to prevent them from fully engaging. The research highlights the critical success factors for successful implementation are often related to customers and not employees. The perceived benefits from the usage of these tools are also displayed.

The limitations of this research are recognised, in particular the relatively small number of SMEs in a geographically confined area. Nevertheless, the research is intended primarily as an exploratory study designed to identify themes and issues as a basis for further research. Consequently, the study offers a number of significant findings that contribute more broadly to the Human Sigma literature.

This paper presents an initial study on the status of Human Sigma implementation in UK tourism SMEs. The service sector is dominated by a large number of SMEs and despite escalating attention paid within the literature to issues related to quality management, limited research has been undertaken into the utilisation and contribution of contemporary business improvements tools. A framework for the implementation of the Human Sigma approach to business improvement is illustrated. This paper will yield value to academics, consultants, researchers and practitioners.