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The purpose of this paper is to explore how the different dimensions of service quality influence customers’ behavioural intentions in the private and public sector banks, that is, in class and mass banking, respectively, and the implications for the service provider, consumer, society and consumer policy.

A contextually modified SERVQUAL instrument was used to capture customers’ perceptions of service quality followed by exploratory factor analysis to study the dimensionality of service quality in retail banking. Multiple regression was used to probe the influence of the dimensions of service quality on customers’ behavioural intentions.

The study revealed four dimensions of service quality in retail banking, namely, customer-orientedness, reliability, tangibles and convenience and showed that the service quality factor customer-orientedness comprising of the responsiveness and attitude of employees is most important in influencing customers’ behavioural intentions in the case of private sector banks and reliability of the service is most influential in the case of public sector banks.

Future research can focus on “service excellence” being extended beyond assessment of the quality of services, towards evaluation of the quality of life outcomes, to which public organizations contribute, appraisal of the quality of public governance processes and quality of performance in meeting social objectives.

Retail bank managers must realize the importance of employees providing competent, reliable service in the case of public sector banks and their responsiveness and behaviour towards customers in the case of private sector banks, as the keys to foster a culture of service excellence.

High-quality financial consumer policy must not only be able to increase customer satisfaction with financial services but also build security and trust in public administration through transparent processes and accountability. In this context, with public agencies being regarded as service providers and citizens as customers, the concept of quality must also visualize public agencies as catalysts of a responsible and active civic society.

This study explores the relationship between service quality and customers’ behavioural intentions in the private and public sector banks by linking both constructs at their dimensional level. It highlights major implications for the service provider, society, consumer and public policy based on the different needs, characteristics and requirements of customers of class and mass banking, that is, private and public sector banks.

Are there cases or contexts where certain groups of customers who are expected to place a considerable emphasis and importance on the tangible qualities of services end up attributing a greater weight to the intangible qualities? This paper attempts to exemplify the existence of such cases, and explain why such cases are, at times, paradoxical in nature, and how such cases could arise.

The paper employs a structural‐equation‐modeling approach to theorize about, and empirically examine, the tangible and intangible determinants of service quality. The model and the path developed in the paper also capture the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. Using AMOS, the empirical estimation of the model is carried out.

The central finding is that all intangible factors associated with service quality turn out to be unequivocally more important than the tangible ones in the Turkish non‐profit health‐care sector under investigation. In other words, intangible factors appear to play a statistically more significant role compared with tangible factors in determining the overall customer satisfaction and the quality of non‐profit health‐care services. Considering that, in developing countries, tangible factors are expected to be among the most scarce, and hence, most valuable ones, the relative unimportance of tangible factors constitutes a paradox to be explained and resolved.

This paper contributes to the literature by bringing to light a striking phenomenon which is largely unnoticed in the literature, namely that, in certain cases, there might exist a fundamental asymmetry and difference between the influences of tangible and intangible factors on service quality, and that difference in certain contexts, as in the case of the Turkish health‐care sector, constitutes a paradox to be explained. The paper demonstrates the possibility of such paradoxical cases and provides cultural and sector‐specific explanations for this seemingly puzzling phenomenon in question.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This article initially aims to explore the factors of every quality construct of the 5Qs model of service quality and, second, identify the significant factors affecting the total quality of e-healthcare services and its association with consumer satisfaction using a multidimensional hierarchical 5Qs model of e-healthcare service quality.

Questionnaire-oriented research was performed at three public hospitals of Punjab and Chandigarh. In total, 53 variables were covered in all quality constructs for data collection from the designated public hospitals. The respondents who agreed to have knowledge regarding e-Healthcare services and were availing these services were included in the study. The analysis comprised structural equation modeling technique using AMOS 21.

The outcomes suggest that the 5Qs model is more comprehensive and can be used to evaluate service quality perceptions using e-Healthcare services. The research identified 11 sub-dimensions for the five quality constructs of the 5Qs model, representing total quality, which is primary to consumer satisfaction. “Overall objectivity” and “technical objectivity” defined the quality of object. The quality of process of e-Healthcare services was characterized by “functionality,” “timeliness” and “responsiveness.” Quality of infrastructure was defined by “technical infrastructure,” “physical infrastructure,” “manpower skills” and “organizational infrastructure.” “Manner of interaction” and “timely interaction” defined the quality of interaction. The atmosphere was represented by only one factor. The results also suggest that quality of infrastructure, quality of interaction and quality of atmosphere play the most significant role in total quality leading to consumer satisfaction.

Theoretical implications: The multidimensional hierarchical model will help the researchers study the e-Healthcare service quality in a more organized manner, and the outcomes of this study can be linked with that of future studies for more generalized application in other public hospitals. The sub-dimensions of each quality construct of the 5Qs model can be applied in private hospitals, and the hierarchical model can be tested in different industries to measure service quality perceptions of the consumer

The outcomes of the study can be applied in various public sector hospitals to redesign the e-Healthcare services based on consumers' perception for better consumer satisfaction and quality services. This paper identifies the role of each quality construct in e-Healthcare services for improvement in the total quality, which in turn will lead to higher satisfaction for the consumers.

In this study, the original 5Qs model has been used for the first time in a new instrument to understand better and design quality e-Healthcare services. The paper explores the sub-factors of each quality construct and its significance in measuring the total quality.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Given the strategic importance of service quality in hotels of Mauritius, this paper investigates the perceptions of international tourists in hotels of Mauritius by employing a modified SERVQUAL approach Using a principal component factor analysis with a Varimax rotation technique, this study identifies nine hotel factors out of 39 hotel attributes and determines the levels of satisfaction among international tourists and their overall evaluation of service quality prevailing in the hotels. The results from the regression analysis suggest that the overall level of service quality is primarily derived from the “Reliability” factor. This study is strategically and managerially important to the hotel industry in Mauritius. From the results of the study, hotel managers can focus their efforts to provide quality service and facilities that international tourists perceive as being important in determining their overall service quality of the hotels.

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.

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 factors – service, food, ambience and price.

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.

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.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge on service quality and how it is defined and thus, managed, in the context of maritime transport by proposing and testing a new conceptual model of service quality.

The study used a sample of 197 shipping companies, port operators and freight forwarders/logistics service providers, employing the triangulation of both mail survey and in‐depth interview techniques. A total of 120 usable questionnaires were returned and 25 interviews conducted. Data were analysed using the SPSS 13.0 software and thematic analysis technique.

It was found that service quality in maritime transport is a six‐dimensional construct consisting of resources, outcomes, process, management, image, and social responsibility (ROPMIS), with each dimension measured by a number of explaining factors making up a total of 24 factors. Findings also revealed that factors involving the outcomes and process of service provision, as well as the management factors, which all focus on satisfying the customers, received high ranking. They also emphasised process and management‐related factors which involve the centre of all quality systems: the human element.

As this is the first stage of a more comprehensive study, the model was tested only with service providers, and this is the major limitation. Future research direction is desired, e.g. conducting the study using the same instruments on customers and compare the gaps with this research.

The major contribution of this study is to fully operationalise service quality as a six‐dimensional construct in the context of maritime transport, and findings on the ranking of dimensions/factors involved in the model. Although this is the first model of service quality in maritime transport with specific quality factors, its generic dimensions could be generalised to other service sectors as well. The research also has great managerial implications as managers across maritime transport companies can use the tool to develop questionnaire for customer satisfaction survey, thus facilitating a universal benchmarking approach across the industry.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate issues relevant to service quality and propose a conceptual model addressing the convictions held by consumers in relation to the service quality of sport services as regards spectators and their influence on sport consumption.

A quantitative method was used for the purpose of this study and 1,643 questionnaires were gathered and analyzed. The current research intended to employ an integrated service quality model within the scope of sport spectating. The model included five fundamental factors and they were examined in association with the behavioral intentions that spectators have. By combining all these factors and aspects, it was attempted to shape consumers’ general perception regarding quality in service. The model of the research considers quality in service to be a hierarchical construct comprising many dimensions and it is observed that service quality can be classified into five factors, all of which can be defined by a variety of corresponding sub-factors.

The outcomes showed that four of the suggested factors regarding quality (i.e. game quality, augmented service quality, interaction quality and outcome quality) had an important as well as favorable influence on sport consumption.

The empirical evidence for this research is derived from one specific professional sport event (European Basketball League) and spectators who took part were from Greece. Future research could use a wider sample of sport events and the participation of spectators from various countries is necessary before such findings are generalized.

The present research provides a contemporary analysis of factors influencing sport spectators anticipated quality and their influence on sport consumption.