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1 – 10 of over 152000Many organizations are investing much time and effort in the management of quality. A few enlightened ones even have a vision to be the best. G. Howland Blackiston, thepresident…
Abstract
Many organizations are investing much time and effort in the management of quality. A few enlightened ones even have a vision to be the best. G. Howland Blackiston, the president of the Juran Institute, noted recently that, “All around the world companies are waking up to ‘quality’. Everyone is touting quality. Many are attempting it. Some organizations have gotten enviable results by using the concepts of ‘managing for quality’ dramatically to lower their costs, increase their profits and become more competitive in an increasingly competitive market. For these winners, quality has become an integral part of their business strategy”.
Prachi Verma, Satinder Kumar and Sanjeev K. Sharma
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Research limitations/implications
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
Practical implications
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.
Originality/value
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.
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Pieter J.A. Nagel and Willem W. Cilliers
In recognising the need to research the conceptof customer satisfaction the study aims to developa strategic approach to measuring a customer′ssatisfaction with a particular…
Abstract
In recognising the need to research the concept of customer satisfaction the study aims to develop a strategic approach to measuring a customer′s satisfaction with a particular enterprise. The study is an attempt to (1) develop an overall concept of customer satisfaction; (2) provide a detailed relationship structure for implementation within a company; and (3) identify potential research areas. A basic premiss of the study is that the focus should be on maximising total product value to the customer; and then, second, that customer satisfaction of external customers is inter‐dependent on the satisfaction of internal customers. The framework of the research centres on a proposed model which integrates all aspects so as to maximise the potential of the organisation and all its subsystems to create and sustain satisfied customers. The approach begins with a conceptualisation phase in which the concept of customer satisfaction is explored. Attributes are then classified into services and this is then extended to integrate the internal customer into a total service model; applying gap‐analysis to this model. Enterprise satisfaction provides the basis for extending the total service model; positioning is applied to the customer satisfaction strategy; and operationalising of this strategy is proposed through an implementation model.
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Francesco Schiavone, Maria Cristina Pietronudo, Annamaria Sabetta and Marco Ferretti
Total quality management is a valuable approach to continuously improve the quality of organizations; however, scholars debate its applicability to services, which require…
Abstract
Purpose
Total quality management is a valuable approach to continuously improve the quality of organizations; however, scholars debate its applicability to services, which require specific best practices that are different from those related to manufacturing. Moreover, digitization is pervading all kinds of services, but little has been written about total quality service practices in digital-based companies. For this purpose, the authors provide a holistic model of total quality service that reflects the peculiarities of such companies, guided by the question: how do total quality service practices change in digital-based service organizations?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct an illustrative case study on Healthware Group, a global integrated digital health organization, to evaluate theoretical assumptions about total quality service practices in the digital environment.
Findings
The findings allow to validate the model provided. In addition, the study enables them to observe the changes the authors are witnessing in service provision in the digital era and the consequent transformation of best practices. To be accurate, the authors cannot refer to a full transformation in digital-based companies but rather to the enrichment and extension of TQS practices. The best illustration of these conclusions has been summarized in a set of propositions corresponding to seven of the key levers of a TQS model.
Originality/value
The paper represents the first attempt to discuss the relationship between total quality service and digitalization, offering a set of propositions for academics and insights for practitioners. The model can be used as a tool to visualize the different levers that successful implementation of TQS in digital-based services companies can rely on.
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Chi-Kuang Chen, Lidia Reyes, Jens Dahlgaard and Su Mi Dahlgaard-Park
This paper aims to review total quality management (TQM) literature in the past three decades to identify the quality related key terms, to analyse their linkage among the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review total quality management (TQM) literature in the past three decades to identify the quality related key terms, to analyse their linkage among the identified key terms and their developmental trends.
Design/methodology/approach
Bibliometric and statistical methods are used to analyse article titles published in the Total Quality Management and Business Excellence journal during 1990–2019. The current research is based on a search from the ProQuest academic database and the journal’s website, resulting in 2,452 articles collected. The VOSviewer and Microsoft Excel were then used for the analyses.
Findings
A total of 52 key terms were extracted from the journal’s 2,452 article titles, the top three key terms in terms of occurrences were “quality,” “total quality management” and “service quality.” Five themes were then proposed from clustering the 52 key terms: “frameworks/models,” “essentials/enablers,” “methods/techniques,” “culture/characteristics” and “effects/results.” Trend analyses were also conducted regarding the five themes in an attempt to highlight the patterns of research publications from 1990 to 2019. It is found that the research publications for “essentials/enablers,” “methods and techniques” and “effects/results” have steadily increased during the analysis period, while “frameworks/models” and “culture/characteristic” have slightly decreased. These insights provide implication for the historical evolution of quality from “quality control,” “total quality management” and “service quality,” combining with the development of “service sciences.”
Originality/value
This paper highlights the concept of quality since its meaning has changed and evolved over time from quality control, TQM to service quality. And it is emerging in the present and future development of service sciences because of both of TQM and service sciences having the same nature of multidisciplinary background and characteristics. Also the authors can conclude that quality and service sciences are in fact two sides of the same coin because both of them having the same duality of “tangible-intangible” and “physical-virtual” faces which are the important topics that TQM should focus on.
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The ideas expressed in this work are based on those put intopractice at the Okuma Corporation of Japan, one of the world′s leadingmachine tool manufacturers. In common with many…
Abstract
The ideas expressed in this work are based on those put into practice at the Okuma Corporation of Japan, one of the world′s leading machine tool manufacturers. In common with many other large organizations, Okuma Corporation has to meet the new challenges posed by globalization, keener domestic and international competition, shorter business cycles and an increasingly volatile environment. Intelligent corporate strategy (ICS), as practised at Okuma, is a unified theory of strategic corporate management based on five levels of win‐win relationships for profit/market share, namely: ,1. Loyalty from customers (value for money) – right focus., 2. Commitment from workers (meeting hierarchy of needs) – right attitude., 3. Co‐operation from suppliers (expanding and reliable business) – right connections., 4. Co‐operation from distributors (expanding and reliable business) – right channels., 5. Respect from competitors (setting standards for business excellence) – right strategies. The aim is to create values for all stakeholders. This holistic people‐oriented approach recognizes that, although the world is increasingly driven by high technology, it continues to be influenced and managed by people (customers, workers, suppliers, distributors, competitors). The philosophical core of ICS is action learning and teamwork based on principle‐centred relationships of sincerity, trust and integrity. In the real world, these are the roots of success in relationships and in the bottom‐line results of business. ICS is, in essence, relationship management for synergy. It is based on the premiss that domestic and international commerce is a positive sum game: in the long run everyone wins. Finally, ICS is a paradigm for manufacturing companies coping with change and uncertainty in their search for profit/market share. Time‐honoured values give definition to corporate character; circumstances change, values remain. Poor business operations generally result from human frailty. ICS is predicated on the belief that the quality of human relationships determines the bottom‐line results. ICS attempts to make manifest and explicit the intangible psychological factors for value‐added partnerships. ICS is a dynamic, living, and heuristic‐learning model. There is intelligence in the corporate strategy because it applies commonsense, wisdom, creative systems thinking and synergy to ensure longevity in its corporate life for sustainable competitive advantage.
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Atul Gupta, Jason C. McDaniel and S. Kanthi Herath
Proposes developing a conceptual model that can be used in understanding the relationships between sustaining structures that support the total quality service (TQS) philosophy…
Abstract
Purpose
Proposes developing a conceptual model that can be used in understanding the relationships between sustaining structures that support the total quality service (TQS) philosophy and customer satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Integrating the SERVQUAL instrument and other work in the service quality literature, especially the Deming management model, this paper develops a model for understanding the interactions between customer satisfaction and sustaining structures.
Findings
This conceptual paper develops three constructs: leadership, organizational culture and employee commitment, which are very important in achieving total quality service objectives. The proposed model links these three constructs with business processes and total quality service.
Research limitations/ implications
It is not an empirical investigation of customer satisfaction and sustaining structures. The paper does not review in detail the impact of the three constructs on business processes. A researcher who plans to do a customer satisfaction study could benefit from the proposed model as it will provide valuable insights about the interactions between customer satisfaction and sustaining structures.
Originality/value
This paper provides an important conceptual framework for evaluating the relationships between customer satisfaction and sustaining structures.
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The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive model representing the relationships among service quality, customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty in a retail banking…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive model representing the relationships among service quality, customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty in a retail banking service. Because many banks now emphasize acquiring more high-wealth and main-bank customers, this study also focuses on investigating the moderating roles of main-bank and wealth status on such relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies a hierarchical model to measure service quality in line with recent advances in the general-marketing and consumer-behavior literature. A total of 400 valid samples were obtained from customers of a large commercial bank in Thailand. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis.
Findings
Customer-perceived service quality directly and indirectly affects, via satisfaction and trust, attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Service quality affects customer loyalty less if the customer holds main-bank status. It affects behavioral loyalty less for high-wealth customers than regular customers; however, its impacts on attitudinal loyalty are identical. Main-bank and wealth status have a co-moderating impact on the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted on a cross-sectional basis; further, longitudinal analysis could help to assess causality and time-dependent effects among variables.
Practical implications
The present study reconceptualizes the loyalty model, forging a deeper understanding of the moderating effects of main-bank and wealth status and thus helping banks to formulate better strategies to win customer loyalty.
Originality/value
This study aims to contribute to further discussions regarding the direct and indirect effects of service quality on loyalty to help banks formulate effective strategies for acquiring main-bank and high-wealth customers.
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Hugh Koch and Jane Davies
Outlines the introduction of total quality systems into allclinical services within a community‐based NHS Trust in the WestMidlands. Provides practical details of each aspect of…
Abstract
Outlines the introduction of total quality systems into all clinical services within a community‐based NHS Trust in the West Midlands. Provides practical details of each aspect of the quality‐planning process. Shows the commitment of clinicians to “managing quality improvement”.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss service quality and total quality management as a business strategy designed to add value to customers. It begins by discussing the roots…
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to discuss service quality and total quality management as a business strategy designed to add value to customers. It begins by discussing the roots of quality assurance and total quality management, TQM, discusses BPR and supply chain management, and argues for a “moments of truth” analysis approach to delivering service quality.
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