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1 – 10 of over 229000
Article
Publication date: 18 September 2017

Yang Zhao, Ruoxin Zhou and Yinping Ci

The purpose of this paper is to explore the key factors influencing the service innovation of mobile social networks (MSNs), figure out the mechanism of all factors in different…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the key factors influencing the service innovation of mobile social networks (MSNs), figure out the mechanism of all factors in different stages of service innovation and help mobile social application developers promote better service innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

From previous research, this paper adopted nine initial factors that influence the service innovation of MSNs, and divide the service innovation process into three stages (i.e. demand analysis, service design and innovation implementation). On that basis, the authors constructed a model, and then collected data from 184 managers from 20 leading MSN corporates in China through questionnaires to examine the model. Furthermore, factor analysis was used to extract key factors influencing the service innovation of MSNs, correlation analysis was employed to discuss the relationship among factors and regression analysis was applied to explore their specific roles in different stages in the service innovation process.

Findings

The empirical results show that the service innovation of MSNs is mainly influenced by five key factors: user, developer, market environment, social environment and technology. The authors found that different factors played remarkably different roles in the three stages. In specific, all factors but technology are important in the demand analysis stage; all factors but social environment are critical to service design; and all factors but user contribute to the implementation of service innovation.

Practical implications

The results of this study can help mobile social application developers and mobile social service providers in China to better understand the driving force of service innovation and what should be emphasized in different stages, and then find the optimal path to implement service innovation, improve their service quality and user experience and facilitate the development of Chinese MSNs.

Originality/value

This is the first research that comprehensively explores factors influencing the service innovation of Chinese MSNs from multi-dimensional perspectives, which provides profound theoretical guidance to the practice of service innovation in China. Also, it contributes to the development of innovation theory of traditional web services.

Article
Publication date: 15 June 2012

Aayushi Gupta and Santosh Dev

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors impacting customer satisfaction in Indian banks and analyze their effects the level of customer satisfaction through a…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors impacting customer satisfaction in Indian banks and analyze their effects the level of customer satisfaction through a regression analysis. The primary contribution of this study is the analysis and resulting insights on the critical factors impacting client satisfaction within the Indian retail banking sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A 28 item questionnaire was prepared based on literature review and discussions with current customers of Indian banks. The questionnaire was then sent out to current customers of 13 retail banks in India. In total, 420 completed questionnaires were received, out of which 400 were found to have been accurately and completely answered. The 28‐item instrument has been empirically tested for unidimensionality, reliability and validity using Cronbach alpha and exploratory factor analysis.

Findings

A factor analysis suggests that there are five factors driving customer satisfaction: “service quality”, “ambience/hygiene”, “client participation/involvement”, “accessibility” and “financial”. Subsequent multiple regression analysis revealed that “service quality”, “ambience and hygiene”, and “client participation and involvement” in that order are the most important factors impacting client satisfaction.

Practical implications

The identified dimensions are expected to bring clarity to the issue of customer satisfaction in retail banking, to aid retail bankers in improving specific parameters of service in order to increase overall customer satisfaction. This would help the management of the banks to create strategies and action plans to retain their current customers and to attract new customers.

Originality/value

The results from the current study are crucial because previous studies have produced scales that bear a resemblance to SERVQUAL, a generic measure of service quality, which may not be solely adequate to assess the perceived quality of service in the Indian banking sector. In contrast, the present study captured customers' satisfaction levels in a 28‐item questionnaire exclusively designed, keeping in mind the unique nature of the Indian banking sector.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 35 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2016

Ramakrishnan Ramanathan, Yun Di and Usha Ramanathan

In service sector, measuring quality of services is generally acknowledged to be difficult as it involves many psychological features. Hence, identifying the determinants of…

4260

Abstract

Purpose

In service sector, measuring quality of services is generally acknowledged to be difficult as it involves many psychological features. Hence, identifying the determinants of service quality and linkages with customer satisfaction is a challenging research topic. In this study, the authors take up a research study to address this challenge. The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of factors influencing customer satisfaction in the context of a Chinese buffet restaurant in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL instrument for the purpose. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the authors have found that service quality could be grouped into four main factorsservice, food, ambience and price.

Findings

Using multiple-regression analysis, the authors have found that food is the most significant factor influencing customer satisfaction, followed by price, ambience and service, respectively. Using a multi-group analysis, the authors have found interesting moderating roles of age, gender and annual income on the influence of the four factors on satisfaction: ambience is considered significant by male customers while it is not significant for female customers; the influence of price on satisfaction is much higher for female customers than for male customers; food and service factors are important for younger customers while price is important for older customers; price is important for customers with lower levels of income but not important for high-income customers.

Practical implications

These results are useful to restaurant managers in allocating appropriate levels of resources to different factors based on their contributions to customer satisfaction in order to maximize customer satisfaction efficiently and effectively.

Originality/value

Analysis and findings of this research are based on the customers’ survey data of a Chinese buffet restaurant in the UK. The authors have found an interesting ranking of the importance of service factors: food followed by price, ambience and service. The results on the moderating role of customer characteristics provide newer insights in the literature on service quality. The research findings can help the hotel management to improve their service levels to attain maximum customer satisfaction.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 23 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2016

Abhay Kumar Bhadani, Ravi Shankar and D. Vijay Rao

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing investment decisions in mobile services for profitablity and to become a global leader in mobile services sector…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing investment decisions in mobile services for profitablity and to become a global leader in mobile services sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-stage methodology is followed. In the first stage, factors are identified from literature, and are validated with telecommunication domain experts using the t-test. In the second stage, interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to understand the complex interrelationships among various factors. Further, MICMAC analysis is performed to analyze the indirect relationships and their effect on different factors by stabilizing the rank based on driving and dependence power. Based on MICMAC analysis, four clusters are identified to aid the policy- and decision-makers.

Findings

The major contribution of this research is imposing directions and dominance of various factors to make informed decision-making for investment in mobile services to meet the upcoming demand for mobile services in Indian telecommunication sector.

Research limitations/implications

The applicability of these research findings is limited to emerging telecommunication market.

Practical implications

This paper forms the basis for identifying various factors that act as the driving force for the Indian telecommunication operators to pay special attention toward mobile services, with telecommunication data analytics and developing context-aware services. This paper will aid policy-makers in the government, managers in telecommunication companies and other stakeholders such as content providers, channel partners and application developers to take a lead role in developing appropriate mobile services to meet local needs of Indian users. It will help in developing strategies to collaborate and motivate other stakeholders, including device manufacturers to understand and work collaboratively to become world leader in mobile services.

Originality/value

This paper provides a framework for understanding the various factors that encourage telecommunication companies to establish and invest in mobile services and setup a separate vertical in their organization with a focus on mobile services to meet the future demands of Indian market. Appropriate utilization of telecommunication data analytics, personalization of services, customization in local languages and support for convergent services would encourage adoption of mobile services.

Details

Journal of Modelling in Management, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5664

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2024

Poonam Sahoo, Pavan Kumar Saraf and Rashmi Uchil

Significant developments in the service sector have been brought about by Industry 4.0. Automated digital technologies make it possible to upgrade existing services and develop…

Abstract

Purpose

Significant developments in the service sector have been brought about by Industry 4.0. Automated digital technologies make it possible to upgrade existing services and develop modern industrial services. This study prioritizes critical factors for adopting Industry 4.0 in the Indian service industries.

Design/methodology/approach

The author identified four criteria and fifteen significant factors from the relevant literature that have been corroborated by industry experts. Models are then developed by the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and analytical network process (ANP) approach to ascertain the significant factors for adopting Industry 4.0 in service industries. Further, sensitivity analysis has been conducted to determine the sensitivities of the rank of criteria and sub-factors to corroborate the results.

Findings

The outcome reveals the top significant criteria as organizational criteria (0.5019) and innovation criteria (0.3081). This study prioritizes six significant factors information technology (IT) specialization, digital decentralization of all departments, organizational size, smart services through customer data, top management support and Industry 4.0 infrastructure in the transition toward Industry 4.0 in the service industries.

Practical implications

The potential factors identified in this study will assist managers in determining strategies to effectively manage the Industry 4.0 transition by concentrating on top priorities when leveraging Industry 4.0. The significance of organizational and innovation criteria given more weight will lay the groundwork for future Industry 4.0 implementation guidelines in service industries.

Originality/value

Our research is novel since, to our knowledge, no previous study has investigated the potential critical factors from organizational, environmental, innovation and cost dimensions. Thus, the potential critical factors identified are the contributions of this study.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1988

T.S. Raghunathan, Prabir K. Bagchi and Edward J. Bardi

This discussion of buying motor carrier services in a deregulated environment identifies the key factors influencing supplier choice.

Abstract

This discussion of buying motor carrier services in a deregulated environment identifies the key factors influencing supplier choice.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Materials Management, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0269-8218

Article
Publication date: 17 July 2020

Ajith Tom James and Jasmin James

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the service quality automobile garages through development of a service quality index based on the factors influencing service quality.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the service quality automobile garages through development of a service quality index based on the factors influencing service quality.

Design/methodology/approach

A structural methodology of graph theory and matrix approach is applied for developing the service quality index.

Findings

The automobile maintenance can be considered as a service industry and in order to sustain in the competitive business environment, the service providers must ensure quality in their services. There are several factors that influence the service quality. Each factor is comprised of several sub-factors. Moreover, the factors are interrelated with each other. Modelling of these factors and their interrelations with due consideration of their structure is accomplished through the graph theory. The directed graph (digraph) of the service quality is defined; the nodes of this symbolize the quality influencing factors, while the edges represent their degrees of interrelationships. An equivalent matrix developed from the digraph establishes a service quality function which leads to evaluation of service quality index (SQI). A greater value of the service quality index displays that the organization and functioning of the garage is adequate.

Practical implications

The methodology can be applied for evaluating as well as comparing service quality of different garages. The observations would be helpful to the managers the garages to make strategies for improving their service quality.

Originality/value

The paper establishes the interrelations among various factors that influence the service quality at automobile garages and develop a numeric index for the evaluation of the same.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 10 September 2018

S. Subhashini and S. Preetha

The service sector is the key driver of a country’s economic growth. The quality of service is more important for the survival of any organization. It is the interactive process…

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Abstract

Purpose

The service sector is the key driver of a country’s economic growth. The quality of service is more important for the survival of any organization. It is the interactive process by which the organization understands the customer and satisfies their needs. The main purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing service quality in ocean freight forwarding and to study the association between the factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a deductive approach, which understands the theory first and collects the data. A questionnaire is designed to collect the data. The sampling technique used is two-stage sampling. First, the freight forwarders are selected and then the customers, importers and exporters are selected randomly. Likert scales are used to measure quality factors such as tangibility, reliability, responsibility, value, empathy and assurance. The association of factors is empirically evaluated. The SPSS tool is used for the correlation analysis.

Findings

An extensive review of the literature has been done to study and identify these service quality factors influencing customer satisfaction and loyalty. The result of this extensive literature review revealed that tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, trust, empathy and value are the service quality. It has been proved that there exists a significant association between the service quality factors and is positively related to the customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

Some studies have examined the freight forwarders’ service quality, but not specifically related to any dimension. This study attempts to bring together the five dimensions of SERVQUAL scale and the value dimension evaluating the cost, freight charges, safety and security criteria in the industry and examines the association between the quality factors and customer satisfaction.

Details

Maritime Business Review, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-3757

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 September 2013

Bedman Narteh

– The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that influence retail bank switching in the Ghanaian banking sector.

1967

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that influence retail bank switching in the Ghanaian banking sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A detailed review of the extant literature and focus group discussions was used to identify 31 variables which were used to survey 419 customers of 18 retail banks in Ghana. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis were used to identify the main retail bank switching factors.

Findings

The result of the study indicates that service encounter failures, pricing failures, electronic banking failures, service recovery failures and core service failures accounted for retail bank customer's decision to switch banks in Ghana.

Research limitations/implications

The focus of the study on Ghana limits the generaliseability of the findings. Moreover, the five factor structure identified in the study could be replicated in other countries, thereby setting the stage for cross-country studies on retail bank switching.

Originality/value

The study concludes that factors that account for retail bank switching in developed economies are not essentially different from the factors accounting for retail bank switching in Ghana. The study is thus significant especially to foreign banks entering the Ghanaian banking industry as it provides insight into how to satisfy and retain customers.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2020

Ching-Chan Cheng, Hung-Che Wu, Ming-Chun Tsai, Yu-Yuan Chang and Cheng-Ta Chen

This study aims to extract determinants of customers' choice of dining-related services (CDS) to understand their attitudes and habits for dining-related services. Moreover, it…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to extract determinants of customers' choice of dining-related services (CDS) to understand their attitudes and habits for dining-related services. Moreover, it classifies restaurant customers into several clusters based on their CDS factors and further analyzes the differences in the preferences and habits for dining-related services among various clusters.

Design/methodology/approach

This study extracts the CDS factors using principal component analysis and identifies construct validity of the CDS factors through the results of confirmatory factor analysis. Then, it divides the restaurant customers in Taipei City into different clusters through cluster analysis to explore the habits and preferences for dining-related services in each cluster.

Findings

The study results show that the extracted six CDS factors, including service commitment, dietary preferences, design styles, additional value, delicate information collection, and dining environments. Dietary preferences, service commitment and additional value factor are the most important CDS factors for restaurant customers in Taipei City. This study divides 1,029 restaurant customers in Taipei City into three clusters based on the CDS factors through cluster analysis. The differences in the preferences and habits for dining services among three clusters have been discussed in the context in detail. Finally, this study develops eight service strategies and determines the order of execution of the eight service strategies for each cluster of customers.

Originality/value

The findings will help restaurant operators segment the market, target market customers, carry out service positioning and develop marketing strategies to respond to the highly competitive restaurant market and achieve sustainable restaurant operations.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 122 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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