scholarly journals The V-model of service quality: an African case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 923-945
Author(s):  
Grafton Whyte ◽  
Andy Bytheway

Purpose This paper aims to introduce and demonstrate a new model for service quality that separates out the measurement of service quality in ways grounded in psychological theory and methodological symmetry. Design/methodology/approach A review of experience in service quality management suggests that new approaches are needed. By seeking a way of managing service at different levels, with symmetry between data collection and data analysis, a model is presented that has more potential applicability and flexibility than is found in traditional models. Findings A national study in Namibia, Africa provided data that successfully demonstrate the method of working and illustrate the contextual, analytical and data management issues and the reporting potential out of complex service management data. Research limitations/implications This new approach to the design of service quality measurement and assessment extends the capability that is generally found in other existing approaches. It provides a new foundation for further research into complex patterns of service success and that will establish more clearly the inter-dependencies between service encounters, service attributes and service measures at the survey item level. Practical implications Studies of multiple service sectors and multiple service recipient groups can now gather and manage large complex data sets and analyse and report that data in ways appropriate to the needs of different stakeholders. Social implications In any context where service quality is a socio-economic or development issue, it is now possible to take a more careful and nuanced approach to the collection and aggregation of data, which will inform policy makers and other stakeholder groups at the national or regional level. Originality/value This new model addresses a range of problems that have been reported with historical approaches such as SERVQUAL and related methods of working. It also provides foundations for new designs for large-scale service management data collection, organisation and analysis.

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Sundbo

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse the movement in the focus on customers within service management and marketing theories and service research that has taken place during the past three decades. The paper addresses the question: How did we, in service research, change from emphasizing quality to emphasizing experience? Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses developments in service and experience theories. Experience has come onto the theoretical agenda, both in its own right and as a concept within service marketing and management theory. Findings – Experience has increasingly been a concept that has replaced quality in service marketing theories. However, an independent experience economy paradigm has also emerged. Recently, the societal emphasis on productivity may lead back to functional quality re-emerges in theories; however, it will most likely be in a new version. Originality/value – This analysis is a profound theory-critical analysis of the actually very widely used concept experience in service theories. The analysis present an understanding of what experience means in these theories and how it relates to the quality concept. This is an original contribution to a deeper understanding of service marketing and service quality theories.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agus Usman ◽  
Yudi Azis ◽  
Budi Harsanto ◽  
Anton Mulyono Azis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the evolution of research on airport service quality and measurement index of passenger satisfaction to explore opportunities for future research direction.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted involving a total final sample 27 articles published during 2000–2020, the source of the database used in this study is Emerald, ScienceDirect, Harzing's Publish or Perish with API Key based on set of inclusion/exclusion criteria for analysis and synthesis to meet the purpose of the paper.FindingsDimensions of measuring airport service quality are currently based on a process approach. There are eight dimensions of ASQ measurement practiced by the industry, which is different from the five dimensions of service quality measurement generally. There is still a theoretical and empirical gap, so one of the challenges in applying the ASQ measurement dimensions is bridging research with applications in the airport industry. Other findings, research on airport service quality measurement is currently focused on passenger satisfaction. The integration of expectation-disconfirmation theory and service profit chain models can be used in service quality, passenger satisfaction and profitability.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper seeks to contribute to and analyze limited articles on service quality at airports and identify further research areas.Originality/valueThis paper tries to explain the development of research on the dimensions of measuring service quality at airports. The author identifies a gap in airport service quality measurement dimensions used by researchers and the industry. The author believes that this study can provide a comprehensive thought on using airport service quality measurement dimensions for future research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 295-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zyad M. Alzaydi ◽  
Ali Al-Hajla ◽  
Bang Nguyen ◽  
Chanaka Jayawardhena

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide researchers with an overview of the service quality and delivery domain, focussing on the inclusion of customer co-production and customer integration. Specifically, this paper concentrates on service quality (including quality measurement), the service environment, controls and their consequences. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive review of the literature is conducted, analysed and presented. Findings The review shows that service delivery is both complex and challenging, particularly when considering the unique characteristics of services and the high level of customer involvement in their creation. The facilitation, transformation and usage framework identifies how failures can occur at each stage of service delivery, beginning with the characteristics of the service environment, while control theory offers insights into the formal and informal controls that may be applied in the facilitation and transformation stages, which may reduce the likelihood or extent of such failures. Originality/value Despite the fact that it is widely accepted that service quality is an antecedent to customer satisfaction, it is surprising that this customer co-creation aspect has been largely neglected in the extant literature. As such, the role that customer co-production plays in service quality performance has been examined in this paper. It is hoped that this examination will enhance both theoretical and practical understanding of service quality. It would be useful to find modern tools that can help in improving service quality performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avanish Kumar

PurposeThe paper aims to examine a citizen-centric model of governmental entrepreneurship that transforms public service management for the empowerment of marginalized women.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a qualitative methodology to analyze the distinctive model of a rural livelihoods program in India. A fieldwork was conducted in four villages, a total of 250 women were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire and eight focus-group discussions were conducted. The data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis and discourse analysis. Finally, the findings were shared with women in the study area.FindingsThe analysis suggests that the adoption of distinct management for social welfare program results in social legitimacy and social value creation. JEEViKA illustrates that citizen-centric social entrepreneurship model is an outcome of internal and external governance mechanisms, strategy that thrusts on skills and capacity as investment, tools local women (community resource persons) as instruments and targets spatial saturation as an intervention creates political and economic participation, and that marketability promotes power over economic resources that enable freedom from servitude.Research limitations/implicationsThe model provides a direction to overcome multiple barriers to addressing poverty and marginalization.Practical implicationsPoor and government can leverage through the collaborative capacity to meet ever-evolving social needs by developing a state-society partnership in citizen-centric governmental entrepreneurship.Social implicationsThe policies to overcome large-scale marginalization can adopt citizen-centric model to create social legitimacy that furthers social value among the poor and marginalized rural women.Originality/valueThis study provides a model that illustrates government ability to transform marginalized poor as co-producers of development benefits.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 516-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantina Spanaki ◽  
Zeynep Gürgüç ◽  
Catherine Mulligan ◽  
Emil Lupu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to unfold the perceptions around additional security in cloud environments by highlighting the importance of controlling mechanisms as an approach to the ethical use of the systems. The study focuses on the effects of the controlling mechanisms in maintaining an overall secure position for the cloud and the mediating role of the ethical behavior in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A case study was conducted, examining the adoption of managed cloud security services as a means of control, as well as a large-scale survey with the views of IT decision makers about the effects of such adoption to the overall cloud security. Findings The findings indicate that there is indeed a positive relationship between the adoption of controlling mechanisms and the maintenance of overall cloud security, which increases when the users follow an ethical behavior in the use of the cloud. A framework based on the findings is built suggesting a research agenda for the future and a conceptualization of the field. Research limitations/implications One of the major limitations of the study is the fact that the data collection was based on the perceptions of IT decision makers from a cross-section of industries; however the proposed framework should also be examined in industry-specific context. Although the firm size was indicated as a high influencing factor, it was not considered for this study, as the data collection targeted a range of organizations from various sizes. Originality/value This study extends the research of IS security behavior based on the notion that individuals (clients and providers of cloud infrastructure) are protecting something separate from themselves, in a cloud-based environment, sharing responsibility and trust with their peers. The organization in this context is focusing on managed security solutions as a proactive measurement to preserve cloud security in cloud environments.


2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (9) ◽  
pp. 1946-1966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ildikó Kemény ◽  
Judit Simon ◽  
Ákos Nagy ◽  
Krisztián Szucs

Purpose The perceived electronic-service quality (e-SQ) has become a relevant research area, not only in developed but also in smaller, less-developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of an analysis into the relationship of the dimensions of perceived e-SQ and satisfaction as well as WOM intention in case of an online bookstore in Hungary where technical development and internet penetration is emerging; however, it is developing from an economic perspective. Beyond this a potential segmentation is introduced in the Hungarian market. Design/methodology/approach The direct effect of perceived e-SQ’s dimensions on satisfaction and on traditional WOM were analysed using the PLS-SEM method, which was followed by the segmentation approach. The paper also demonstrates differences of the identified consumer segments, using multivariate analysis of variance. Findings According to the research only the dimension of efficiency and responsiveness have a significant positive effect on satisfaction, and beside these the quality perception of fulfilment has a significant influence on WOM intention. Using the relevant latent variable scores segmentation was conducted and four clusters were identified. Originality/value Due to peculiarities of e-services, quality measurement needs a constant revision and adoption. Extent amount of research has been dedicated to analyse the relationship of quality and satisfaction, but the direct effect of relevant quality dimensions on word-of-mouth intention is a new research field. Segmenting customers based on latent variable scores of the proposed model has not been conducted before in case of an online bookstore in Hungary. According to the results the evaluation of the technology-based components has the greatest effect on satisfaction and WOM intention. However, web-shops managers should focus not only on online characteristics but also on offline, human-based interactions and the service quality of their delivery partners.


Author(s):  
Roger Marshall ◽  
Rouxelle De Villiers

Purpose – Urry’s model of Tourism Gaze as described by Woodside is problematic, in that tourist participant observers change the phenomenon they observe. The purpose of this study is to present an alternative model that better represents the dialectic between tourists and the destination culture. Design/methodology/approach – A story-telling technique, based upon personal experience and introspection that matches the story told by Woodside, is used to illustrate the theory development and formulate an alternative model. Findings – A new model is proposed that acknowledges that the more a tourist lives their tourism experience and becomes immersed in the destination culture, the greater the affect he/she has upon the destination. The issue of authenticity is discussed in relationship to this new model, as – in a sense – the experience of a one-time traveler is as authentic as those of a long-term stay tourist. Practical implications – The practical implications are both for tourist operators and policymakers. Cultures change, regardless of any tourism activity; but, such activity is a major change-agent, especially so as the emerging Asian countries discover the pleasures of “globe-trotting”. Although the cultural experience of tourists will remain authentic, large-scale tourism projects will inevitably change the culture the tourists sought to experience in the first place. The value of alternate tourism strategies based on the tourist’s impact upon the host culture is becoming increasingly critical. Originality/value – The new model is simple but effective, and is more pragmatic and accurate than the original tourist gaze model of Urry. The introspective, story-telling, methods used are more typical of academic marketing than tourism research, but serve the purpose here well by making the conceptual idea readily available to the reader.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fung Yi Millissa Cheung ◽  
Wai Ming To

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how task- and relation-oriented customers co-create high quality services with frontline employees from the perspective of customer-dominant (C-D) logic. Design/methodology/approach – The authors reviewed the service management literature and identified a number of critical components that help service providers understand the psychology and behaviour of their customers, and how their customers perceive service encounters. The authors tested the theoretical model using a random survey sample of 707 consumers in Hong Kong. Findings – The authors found that information sharing fully mediated the interactive effects of customer involvement and customer motivational orientation on customer perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. These findings support the C-D logic that customers as co-creators of value play a dominant role in service encounters. Research limitations/implications – The authors contribute to the existing management literature by identifying the importance of the C-D logic for service delivery and management. In particular, the involvement of customers with different motivational orientations through information sharing significantly affects customers’ perceived service quality and satisfaction. Originality/value – The paper enhances the understanding of customer’s logic by exploring the conditions and process between customer involvement and service delivery. Further directions for theoretical and empirical research are suggested.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kailun Feng ◽  
Shiwei Chen ◽  
Weizhuo Lu ◽  
Shuo Wang ◽  
Bin Yang ◽  
...  

PurposeSimulation-based optimisation (SO) is a popular optimisation approach for building and civil engineering construction planning. However, in the framework of SO, the simulation is continuously invoked during the optimisation trajectory, which increases the computational loads to levels unrealistic for timely construction decisions. Modification on the optimisation settings such as reducing searching ability is a popular method to address this challenge, but the quality measurement of the obtained optimal decisions, also termed as optimisation quality, is also reduced by this setting. Therefore, this study aims to develop an optimisation approach for construction planning that reduces the high computational loads of SO and provides reliable optimisation quality simultaneously.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes the optimisation approach by modifying the SO framework through establishing an embedded connection between simulation and optimisation technologies. This approach reduces the computational loads and ensures the optimisation quality associated with the conventional SO approach by accurately learning the knowledge from construction simulations using embedded ensemble learning algorithms, which automatically provides efficient and reliable fitness evaluations for optimisation iterations.FindingsA large-scale project application shows that the proposed approach was able to reduce computational loads of SO by approximately 90%. Meanwhile, the proposed approach outperformed SO in terms of optimisation quality when the optimisation has limited searching ability.Originality/valueThe core contribution of this research is to provide an innovative method that improves efficiency and ensures effectiveness, simultaneously, of the well-known SO approach in construction applications. The proposed method is an alternative approach to SO that can run on standard computing platforms and support nearly real-time construction on-site decision-making.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Hewison ◽  
Emma Hodges ◽  
Sundaravadivel Balasubramanian ◽  
Tina Swani

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to report how the palliative and end of life care community in one region of England worked together to create a new model for integrated palliative and end of life care to respond to the challenges of changing demography, the need to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions of people nearing the end of life and to improve the quality of provision in line with current policy.Design/methodology/approachA co-production approach to system transformation was adopted involving 73 members of the palliative and end of life care community in one region of England.FindingsA new model for the delivery of integrated palliative and end of life care services was produced. The breadth of membership of the co-production working party and constructive/collaborative working helped ensure a viable model was produced.Practical implicationsAlthough systems’ thinking perspectives can help address the challenges of large-scale transformation because they focus on promoting the value of relationships, recognise the nuances of context and the need to understand system behaviour over time, the potential for systems to benefit from this approach is limited by the complexity of the processes involved and the sheer number of issues to be addressed in practical terms by policy makers and change leaders.Originality/valueThe paper explores the contribution that theories of large-scale transformation can make to the design of palliative and end of life care services in health and social care.


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