A lot of researchers have studied service quality as the importance of service industry increases. To manage the service quality, it is important to use a proper measurement model for the service quality. The SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry(herein PZB, 1988) is widely us...
A lot of researchers have studied service quality as the importance of service industry increases. To manage the service quality, it is important to use a proper measurement model for the service quality. The SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry(herein PZB, 1988) is widely used in service literatures. According to a survey on measurement models for service quality, the SERVQUAL model has been used by 89% of the studies which focus on service quality in Korea. The SERVQUAL(PZB 1988) model consists of 5 dimensions such as tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy and it is based on the premise that customers can evaluate a company's service quality by comparing their perceptions of its service with their expectations. PZB(1988) insisted that the SERVQUAL is seen as a generic measurement tool that can be applied across a broad spectrum of service industries. But many researchers have pointed out that the SERVQUAL model has several limitations. The most controversial issue is the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL. Buttle(1996) and Carman(1990) pointed out that the number of quality dimensions would be different by different service category so the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL were not consistent. Also, they mentioned that this inconsistency was resulted from the difference of service category and the number of service quality dimensions can be changed by certain service category(Babakus and Boller 1992; Buttle 1996; Carman 1990; Chen and Ting 2002; Rosen and Karwan 1994). If service quality dimensions are different by service category, the same service category must produce same quality dimensions as claimed in previous studies. However, there were lots of cases that the same service category produced different dimensions(Han and Kim 2006; Han and Woo 2011; Pitt, Watson, and Kavan 1995). These results derive the fundamental doubt whether the dimensions of service quality are constant like the assertion of PZB(1988). This study tried to find the answer to what is the dimensions of service quality. Based on the related literature(the CSI analysis method model(Kim 2003) and the gap analysis model(PZB 1985)) review we conjectured that the service quality evaluated by consumer is determined by the stimulus, which is the 'service' provided by company. Thus, we were able to determine the basis that the service can have an influence from the strategy of company’s service quality. Also, we found that the each service company uses different service strategy to get the dominant position from the competition with other company(Berry 1995; Chase and Aquilano 1995; Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons 1998; Mathe and Shapiro 1993; Zemke and Schaaf 1989). That is, there are many factors(e.g., personal factors, social and cultural background) that have an influence on a consumer's perception of service quality, but the strategy of company's service quality also has influence on a consumer's perception of service quality. Therefore, this study suggested that the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL could be interpreted as the dimensions of service strategies in a service industry. To test if interpretation on the dimensions of service quality as suggested in this study is valid, we conducted a simulation study and an empirical study. In the simulation study, we conducted the factor analysis with the data generated with the service strategies of companies such as Type Ⅰ and Type Ⅱ. The result showed the derived dimensions were same to those that were expected by the service strategies. In the empirical study, we conducted the factor analysis with the perceived service quality data evaluated by actual customers under various service strategy scenarios of companies. The result showed the derived dimensions of service quality were same to those that were expected by the service strategy scenarios. According to these results, the proposed interpretation on the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL is supported empirically. Finally, the implications from this work can be summarized as follows. Firstly, this thesis provides an important academic contribution. This thesis demonstrated that the dimensions of service quality could be interpreted as the dimensions of service strategies. It means that the dimensions of service quality might be different depending on the service strategies used by companies in a service industry. Secondly, researchers can categorize service companies into same strategy groups. In other words, researchers can classify service companies depending the service strategies that the companies pursue. This diagnostic framework gives us richer information on competition in a service industry.
A lot of researchers have studied service quality as the importance of service industry increases. To manage the service quality, it is important to use a proper measurement model for the service quality. The SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry(herein PZB, 1988) is widely used in service literatures. According to a survey on measurement models for service quality, the SERVQUAL model has been used by 89% of the studies which focus on service quality in Korea. The SERVQUAL(PZB 1988) model consists of 5 dimensions such as tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy and it is based on the premise that customers can evaluate a company's service quality by comparing their perceptions of its service with their expectations. PZB(1988) insisted that the SERVQUAL is seen as a generic measurement tool that can be applied across a broad spectrum of service industries. But many researchers have pointed out that the SERVQUAL model has several limitations. The most controversial issue is the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL. Buttle(1996) and Carman(1990) pointed out that the number of quality dimensions would be different by different service category so the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL were not consistent. Also, they mentioned that this inconsistency was resulted from the difference of service category and the number of service quality dimensions can be changed by certain service category(Babakus and Boller 1992; Buttle 1996; Carman 1990; Chen and Ting 2002; Rosen and Karwan 1994). If service quality dimensions are different by service category, the same service category must produce same quality dimensions as claimed in previous studies. However, there were lots of cases that the same service category produced different dimensions(Han and Kim 2006; Han and Woo 2011; Pitt, Watson, and Kavan 1995). These results derive the fundamental doubt whether the dimensions of service quality are constant like the assertion of PZB(1988). This study tried to find the answer to what is the dimensions of service quality. Based on the related literature(the CSI analysis method model(Kim 2003) and the gap analysis model(PZB 1985)) review we conjectured that the service quality evaluated by consumer is determined by the stimulus, which is the 'service' provided by company. Thus, we were able to determine the basis that the service can have an influence from the strategy of company’s service quality. Also, we found that the each service company uses different service strategy to get the dominant position from the competition with other company(Berry 1995; Chase and Aquilano 1995; Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons 1998; Mathe and Shapiro 1993; Zemke and Schaaf 1989). That is, there are many factors(e.g., personal factors, social and cultural background) that have an influence on a consumer's perception of service quality, but the strategy of company's service quality also has influence on a consumer's perception of service quality. Therefore, this study suggested that the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL could be interpreted as the dimensions of service strategies in a service industry. To test if interpretation on the dimensions of service quality as suggested in this study is valid, we conducted a simulation study and an empirical study. In the simulation study, we conducted the factor analysis with the data generated with the service strategies of companies such as Type Ⅰ and Type Ⅱ. The result showed the derived dimensions were same to those that were expected by the service strategies. In the empirical study, we conducted the factor analysis with the perceived service quality data evaluated by actual customers under various service strategy scenarios of companies. The result showed the derived dimensions of service quality were same to those that were expected by the service strategy scenarios. According to these results, the proposed interpretation on the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL is supported empirically. Finally, the implications from this work can be summarized as follows. Firstly, this thesis provides an important academic contribution. This thesis demonstrated that the dimensions of service quality could be interpreted as the dimensions of service strategies. It means that the dimensions of service quality might be different depending on the service strategies used by companies in a service industry. Secondly, researchers can categorize service companies into same strategy groups. In other words, researchers can classify service companies depending the service strategies that the companies pursue. This diagnostic framework gives us richer information on competition in a service industry.
Keyword
#SERVQUAL Dimensions Service Quality Company's Strategy Competitive Strategy Group Factor Analysis
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.