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The service sector comprises a dominant segment of the economy. Customer satisfaction, a measure of quality, is based on the degree of difference between expected quality and the actual level of quality experienced. Expected level of quality is influenced by customer perception of quality, which in turn is impacted by external and internal factors. In service industries, the interaction between the service provider and the customer may also influence quality. Thus quality may consist of tangible and intangible factors. In this chapter we consider the measurable attributes associated with quality in the service sector. Based on a specified guarantee level associated with the attribute, for example, service time, a penalty function is used to determine the impact of deviating from the guarantee level. With service time being a stochastic random variable, expected penalty costs to the service provider are found under a variety of conditions.

This study compares the applicability of the zone of tolerance and importance-performance analysis (IPA) techniques in the evaluation of convention delegates’ perceptions of products and services. Overall, 217 cases out of 400 were used for analysis, a response rate of 54 percent. The study results indicate that although an IPA technique is still useful in assessing the service performance of a convention facility, IPA should be employed with caution, concrete criteria, and clear goals. The study results also show that the zone of tolerance is practically applicable into business practice to assess service performance item by item.

This chapter demonstrates how the ‘golden rule’ can be applied by operators of flexible transport services to improve investment and pricing decisions.

The chapter explains why an appropriate decision making framework is particularly important for operators of flexible transport services and compares the traditional economic framework of fixed versus variable costs to the decision-oriented approach that analyses the activities of a firm in terms of costs that are avoidable (i.e. specific to a particular activity) and costs that are shared amongst a number of activities. The chapter introduces the ‘golden rule’ of decision making and discusses issues in implementing the rule.

An economic framework for decision making is particularly important for smaller scale transport operations (such as flexible transport services) because ‘lumpy’ investment costs are more significant than for larger operators. The traditional economic approach divides costs into fixed costs and those which vary by patronage. A better framework for decision making divides costs into those which are specific to a particular activity and, therefore, avoidable if that activity ceases, and those costs which are common to more than one activity.

Using this framework allows operators to apply the ‘golden rule’ in pricing their services so that the avoidable costs of each activity are recovered and the enterprise covers its shared costs overall.

This chapter will be useful to operators of flexible transport services who are new to the industry or are reacting to changes in the funding environment.

This study compares the applicability of the zone of tolerance (ZOT) and importance performance analysis (IPA) techniques in the evaluation of convention delegates’ perceptions of products and services. Overall, 217 out of 400 were used for analysis, providing a response rate of 54%. The study results indicated that although an IPA technique is still useful in assessing the service performance of a convention facility, IPA should be employed with caution, concrete criteria, and clear goals. The study results also showed that the ZOT is practically applicable into business practice to assess service performance item by item.

The aim of this chapter is to investigate factors affecting four of the gaps encompassed in the GAP model, which then results in Gap 5, the so-called customer gap, related to the variance between customer expectations and the perception of service quality (SQ). Four predictors were selected based on the literature review – marketing research orientation (MRO), service specification design (SSD), integrated technology (ITC) and integrated communication (ICO) – to examine their relationship with the customer gap. A valid and reliable questionnaire, developed for the purpose of the study, was used to collect data from a sample consisting of 600 employees from six hotels located in Amman, Jordan. The findings show that MRO, SSD, ITC and ICO significantly predict the four gaps in SQ on the provider side, which in turn significantly predict the customer gap. For companies, more attention should be paid to the four gaps that induce the customer gap.

Today, services officially represent more than 22% (or about USD 3 trillion) of world trade and are the fastest growing sector of world trade for the last two decades (OECD, 2004; WTO, 2001). Optimist analysts believe that services will reach 50% of world trade by 2020 (Hibbert, 2003). Nearly half of the 100 biggest multinationals are service firms with an average revenue of over USD 50 million in 1997 (Hibbert, 2003; Keillor, Hult & Kandemir, 2004). The American McKinsey and Company in management consulting, the Danish ISS in facility management and the Dutch VNU in business information illustrate how service firms may succeed in gaining and holding a global dominant position. On top of the official service economy, the (hidden) service component of product markets is responsible for a major and increasing part of the total value of the world merchandise trade (Brown et al., 2001; Grönroos, 1990). Illustrative in this respect is the critical role of the global service systems of the Swedish/Swiss ABB in automation technology and of the American Caterpillar in construction and mining equipment.

Objective: Our study examines the association between social support and use of mental health services in Asian American men and women. Specifically, we report on the association between types of social support and types of health services used (general medical care and specialty mental health care).

Method: We use data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, a nationally representative survey of the US household population of Latino and Asian Americans. Our present study is based on data from the sample of Asian Americans (N = 2,095).

Results: Overall, our findings suggest that Asian Americans use general medical care services more than specialty mental health care. Our findings also showed variations in levels of social support, and the use of health services among different Asian subgroups (Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese, and Other Asian) and nativity status (US-born versus foreign-born Asians). Specific types of social support influenced the use of specialty mental health care services, while other types of social support inhibited use of specialist services.

Conclusion: Compared to using generalist services, Asian Americans demonstrated lower rates of using specialist services. Our results emphasize the importance of considering other social factors to explain between group differences as well as factors contributing to the underutilization of specialty mental health services by Asian Americans.