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1 – 10 of over 13000Robin Nunkoo, Viraiyan Teeroovengadum, Peta Thomas and Llewellyn Leonard
The study conceptualizes service quality as a second-order factor and analyzes its influence on customer satisfaction, perceived value, image, consumption emotions and customer…
Abstract
Purpose
The study conceptualizes service quality as a second-order factor and analyzes its influence on customer satisfaction, perceived value, image, consumption emotions and customer loyalty by testing a structural equation model.
Design/methodology/approach
The model is tested using data collected from 672 guests staying in accommodation establishments located in South Africa. The study follows a hierarchical approach using confirmatory factor analysis to test the second-order factor model and structural equation modeling to test the overall model.
Findings
The results indicate that the second-order factor model is acceptable both empirically as well as conceptually and performs better than other competing models of service quality. The findings provide support for all hypotheses and evidence of a structural model with a high explanatory power.
Research limitations/implications
The second-order factor model is less useful when fine-grained analyses are needed, such as when a detailed assessment of the level of quality of service offered by a hospitality organization is required.
Practical implications
The second-order factor model allows for an analysis of service quality at different levels of abstraction. Accommodation managers interested in customers’ evaluation of service on a cumulative basis can make use of the global measure to determine service quality evaluations. Practitioners can also use the findings to manage the different dimensions of service quality.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates that service quality is best represented as a second-order factor, and in doing so, it provides an improved measurement of the construct. More so, by integrating the variable in a nomological network, the research develops a more parsimonious model than the existing ones.
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Lihua Xu, Zane Wubbena and Trae Stewart
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factor structure and the measurement invariance of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) across gender of K-12 school…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factor structure and the measurement invariance of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) across gender of K-12 school principals (n=6,317) in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Nine first-order factor models and four second-order factor models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The results suggested that the nine-factor model provided the best fit for the data. Further examination revealed that most constructs lacked convergent validity and discriminant validity. Second-order factor models were tested and the hierarchical model with two higher order factors (i.e. transformational and transactional leadership) was deemed the best fit and it was then tested for measurement invariance between females and males. The measurement model was found to be invariant across gender. Findings suggested that female school principals demonstrated significantly greater transformational leadership behaviour, while male school principals demonstrated significantly greater transactional leadership behaviour.
Originality/value
This study addressed construct and factor issues previously associated with the MLQ in the measurement of transformational and transactional leadership among a variety of organizations. By using a sample of K-12 school principals across gender, this study has provided support that may ameliorate contextual doubts of transformational leadership behaviour when examining the relational aspects needed to improve schools.
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Piyush Sharma, Bharadhwaj Sivakumaran and Geetha Mohan
This paper aims to introduce the Schmid–Leiman solution (SLS) as a useful tool to interpret the results of higher-order factor analyses in marketing research irrespective of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce the Schmid–Leiman solution (SLS) as a useful tool to interpret the results of higher-order factor analyses in marketing research irrespective of the type of higher-order factor structure used (formative or reflective).
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies, one with retail shoppers in India and another with undergraduate students in Hong Kong, are used to compare different types of higher-order factor structures to test the utility of SLS.
Findings
The authors show that whether a reflective or a formative model is used to operationalize a higher-order construct, using SLS as an additional analysis gives useful insights into the factor structure at different levels and helps isolate their unique contributions to the explained variance.
Research limitations/implications
The authors test higher-order models for store environment and consumer impulsiveness with data from retail shoppers and undergraduate students in two Asian countries, which may restrict the generalizability of the study findings. Future research may try to replicate our findings with other higher-order constructs and consumers in other countries.
Practical implications
The authors offer a checklist that can be used by future researchers to evaluate alternate higher-order factor structures and choose the appropriate one for their research context.
Originality/value
The authors show that using SLS is especially useful when there is a lack of clarity on the nature of relationships between the factors at different levels or about the independent contribution of the factors at different levels, in a higher-order factor structure.
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Sanjit Kumar Roy and Vaibhav Shekhar
The purpose of this study is to identify the underlying dimensions of trustworthiness of financial service providers in the Indian retail banking sector and to model…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the underlying dimensions of trustworthiness of financial service providers in the Indian retail banking sector and to model trustworthiness as a set of second‐order factors. The study replicates and extends the work of Ennew and Sekhon in the Indian context.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the trustworthiness scale developed by Ennew and Sekhon this study identifies six first‐order factors of trustworthiness for retail bankers in India using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Then the study modeled trustworthiness as a set of three second‐order factors using second‐order confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The first‐order factors obtained for trustworthiness of retail bankers are customer orientation, integrity and honesty, communication and similarity, shared values, expertise, and ability and consistency. The second‐order confirmatory factor analysis resulted in three higher order factors namely, competency, openness and benevolence.
Practical implications
The various dimensions of trustworthiness should be viewed as levers for improving a bank's trustworthiness in the minds of its current customers. At the same time, these dimensions will help them in reflecting an image of trustworthiness in the minds of its potential customers. Establishment of trustworthiness as an element of corporate image will provide competitive advantage to the service firms and improve their financial performance.
Originality/value
The research tests for the reliability and validity of the trustworthiness scale of Ennew and Sekhon. This study provides a window to the dimensions on which retail bank customers in an emerging economy such as India perceive a retail bank's trustworthiness. Furthermore, this study is an attempt to model trustworthiness as a set of second‐order factors.
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Sanjiv Mittal, Rajat Gera and Dharminder Kumar Batra
The purpose of this paper is to extract and validate the dimensions of service quality in retail banking services in India by adopting an integrated and hierarchical perspective…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to extract and validate the dimensions of service quality in retail banking services in India by adopting an integrated and hierarchical perspective of service quality determinants.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper empirically validates a parsimonious (multi-dimensional and multi-level) model of service quality in retail banking services in India. The analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. A hypothesized second-order model was tested and compared with a first-order model of service quality. The dimensions were extracted through exploratory factor analysis and validated through confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The second-order service quality model was accepted based on parsimony as it consisted of five primary dimensions: Service delivery (describing the efficiency with which the service is provided), tangibles (the quality of physical service environment), reliability (the promise of right service being provided), core service (the attributes and features of the service product) and competence (the capability of employees and systems for providing the service). The second-order model enhances the understanding of the structure of service quality for retail banking services in India. The most important dimension was tangibles, especially the physical environment which facilitates efficient delivery of service.
Research limitations/implications
The research provides support for a multi-dimensional second-order model of service quality in retail banking service in India. The results show that customers form perceptions of overall service quality which are reflected by five primary dimensions. The primary dimension of tangibles is the most influential.
Practical implications
Organizations need to measure and manage overall service quality perceptions to build trust and reinforce loyalty intentions among their customers. Banks need to adopt a multi-level approach to managing service quality perceptions, i.e. both at the dimensional level and organizational level.
Social implications
This study would contribute to the enhancement of service quality outcomes in retail banking services in India which has a crucial role in the economic development.
Originality/value
The study proposes and validates a parsimonious and hierarchical model of service quality in the context of retail banking in Indian cultural context. Thus this research provides support to existing knowledge of service quality measurement and management and extends the understanding of its structure by validating the multi-level model in an emerging market context.
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Bindu Narayan, Chandrasekharan Rajendran and L. Prakash Sai
The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate scales to measure and benchmark service quality (SQ) in tourism industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate scales to measure and benchmark service quality (SQ) in tourism industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The second‐order confirmatory factor analysis is employed to validate the instrument. SQ dimensions have been modeled which have significant impact on customer satisfaction (CS) separately from those which do not have a significant impact.
Findings
Hospitality, food, logistics, security, and value for money have significant impact on satisfaction, while amenities, core‐tourism experience, hygiene, fairness of price, information centers, culture, distractions, personal information, and pubs do not have a significant impact.
Research limitations/implications
The above pattern may be different in a different destination, and in a different context. However, a major implication of the current findings is that a destination need not have natural cutting edges to be developed as a tourist destination. A destination with good logistics and assurance for security, value for money, impressive hospitality and food, can satisfy a customer.
Practical implications
The scale which has been developed by us will be useful for destination managers to measure the SQ perceptions of tourists and benchmark destinations. The distinction of SQ dimensions with and without the impact on CS could enable a manager to manage these two sets of factors separately.
Originality/value
Unlike previous works, SQ has been modeled in tourism as a second‐order factor, which appears to be a more appropriate approach. The authors have also modeled factors with and without significant impact on satisfaction separately, and the approach does not seem to have precedence in literature. The inclusion of the factor, “Fairness of Price” is also a new contribution to literature.
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Florian Schuberth, Manuel Elias Rademaker and Jörg Henseler
The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to propose partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) as a way to estimate models containing composites of composites and to compare…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to propose partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) as a way to estimate models containing composites of composites and to compare the performance of the PLS-PM approaches in this context, (2) to provide and evaluate two testing procedures to assess the overall fit of such models and (3) to introduce user-friendly step-by-step guidelines.
Design/methodology/approach
A simulation is conducted to examine the PLS-PM approaches and the performance of the two proposed testing procedures.
Findings
The simulation results show that the two-stage approach, its combination with the repeated indicators approach and the extended repeated indicators approach perform similarly. However, only the former is Fisher consistent. Moreover, the simulation shows that guidelines neglecting model fit assessment miss an important opportunity to detect misspecified models. Finally, the results show that both testing procedures based on the two-stage approach allow for assessment of the model fit.
Practical implications
Analysts who estimate and assess models containing composites of composites should use the authors’ guidelines, since the majority of existing guidelines neglect model fit assessment and thus omit a crucial step of structural equation modeling.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the understanding of the discussed approaches. Moreover, it highlights the importance of overall model fit assessment and provides insights about testing the fit of models containing composites of composites. Based on these findings, step-by-step guidelines are introduced to estimate and assess models containing composites of composites.
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Olasunkanmi James Kehinde, Jeff Walls, Amanda Mayeaux and Allison Comeaux
The purpose of this study is to propose and explore a conceptualization of decisional capital that is suitable for early career teachers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to propose and explore a conceptualization of decisional capital that is suitable for early career teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses exploratory factor analysis on a sample of early career teachers to examine a literature-derived conceptualization of decisional capital.
Findings
The factors that emerged support the literature-derived conceptualization. A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis on a second sample of early career teachers offers additional evidence for the proposed conceptualization. An exploration of the underlying factor structure comparing results across four competing models (i.e. unidimensional, correlated factors, second order, and bifactor) suggests that a second order factor explains the variance across the three proposed factors well. We conclude that this second order factor is decisional capital.
Originality/value
This is the first study that examines the discrete elements of decisional capital. Understanding these discrete elements is an avenue for investigation into the development of decisional capital beyond the acknowledgment that it takes time to develop.
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Phongpisanu Boonda, Aree Preedeekul and Phataraphon Markmee
Virtual regional service provider is a key management mechanism created to realize the health service system development plans and a mechanism established to bring about…
Abstract
Purpose
Virtual regional service provider is a key management mechanism created to realize the health service system development plans and a mechanism established to bring about integration of all elements of the health system. However, a virtual service provider office (VSPO) to support the work of the executive has not yet been formally established, and there are no operations practitioners deployed yet, who are necessary to develop the competency of regional operating officer (ROO) in each province. The purpose of this paper is to analyze training program factors to develop the competency of ROO in the VSPO in Thailand.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a descriptive research that used structural equation model. The research sample consisted of 274 executives and 664 practitioners in the Vice Chief of the provincial health office under the 12 regions; executives’ questionnaire and a VSPO questionnaire were used as tools for this study; data were statistically analyzed by three methods, namely, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), second-order confirmatory factor analysis (second-order CFA), and path analysis (PA).
Findings
The variable model was composed of ten factors, selected from 40 variables, which are as follows: service plan and personal administration, summary to present for administrators in the VSPO, network management and team building, summary to adjust strategies, key performance indicator (KPI) and action plan, new management skills, system thinking, analytical thinking, synthesis thinking, conflict management style, and leadership; presentation of methods and data for monitoring, presentation skill, conference management skill; researching, learning skill, communication skill exercise, action plan workshop, preparation to study in the fields workshop; fiscal and monetary, internal control and risk management; project management, monitoring, and data definition; and positive thinking, conflict management process, negotiation skill contingency management.
Originality/value
Ten factors of the variable model of training program factors to develop the competency of ROO in the VSPO in Thailand had high construct validity and they were analyzed using three methods, i.e. EFA, second-order CFA and PA, that were appropriate to be used for developing a training program.
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Simona Sternad, Miro Gradisar and Samo Bobek
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been implemented in most organizations for a few years. ERP solutions go through three phases of lifecycle: selection…
Abstract
Purpose
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been implemented in most organizations for a few years. ERP solutions go through three phases of lifecycle: selection, implementation and operation phase; the operation phase consists of the stabilization stage and the routine stage. To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ERP system use in the operation phase, organizations need to research the factors that have impact on users' satisfaction. A literature shows that few published studies have examined users' adoption of ERP systems through a technological acceptance model (TAM) or examined external factors that have influence the intention to use an ERP system, or ERP use in the stabilization stage. The purpose of this paper is to expose and research external factors which have influence on ERP users in the operation phase of ERP lifecycle and to investigate the impact of those factors on ERP system use.
Design/methodology/approach
The TAM proposed by Davis has been the most widely‐used model for researching user acceptance and usage of information technology/information systems. Despite the existence of several additions to TAM connected with ERP use, the authors aim to make further contribution in the area of external factors. Within this context the present research is focused on the mature use of ERP system (more than one year of ERP use in an organization). A limited number of external factors mentioned in already published papers connected with TAM regarding ERP use has also been extended. The authors have researched the effect of external factors through the second‐order factors on the original TAM. The model has been empirically tested using the data collected from a survey of 161 ERP users from a national telecom company, which has been using an ERP system since 1999. The model has been analysed using PLS approach.
Findings
The study shows that extended external factors observed through the second‐order factors have important influence on ERP usefulness and ERP ease of use; they also have a strong influence on the attitude toward using ERP system by ERP users in the routine (maturity) stage.
Originality/value
The paper researches the factors which have an impact on ERP solution use in the routine (mature) stage of ERP lifecycle. The paper adds to the literature, in that few previous studies have examined the users' adoption of ERP systems through the TAM or examined external factors that have influence on the intention to use an ERP system or ERP use in the stabilization stage.
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