Listening to the voice of students, developing a service quality measuring and evaluating framework for a special course

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-472
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Eszter Tóth ◽  
Vivien Surman
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Project Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Decisions ◽  
First Results ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Measurement And Evaluation ◽  
The Voice

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a service quality measuring and evaluating framework for courses that are not part of the regular end-of-semester course evaluation system because of their special characteristics. The results of an academic year-long application are also to be demonstrated. Design/methodology/approach Based on the SERVQUAL methodology and specific models proposed in the literature, altogether 26 statements related to project works were formulated, in case of which, students rated both the importance and performance addressed in each statement on a seven-point Likert scale. With an average 68 per cent response rate and more than 500 filled out questionnaires, importance-performance analyses complemented with statistical analysis were executed to investigate whether there are any differences between the different levels of project work courses, programmes, levels of studies and sub-departments. These results were then followed by focus group interviews by further addressing the importance issues. Findings Based on the joint conclusions drawn from the statistical analyses and extracted from focus groups, those statements were highlighted that can be considered as dealing with critical to quality issues. The results have been utilized to adjust the questionnaire according to the “voice of students”. Research limitations/implications A complex approach is adopted to measure and evaluate service quality on a course level in the form of a post-course questionnaire. The first results lay the foundation for managerial decisions related to project work courses and supervising processes according to the plan–do–check–act philosophy. Originality/value During project works, students can master the necessary professional knowledge and those inevitable soft skills that are needed to be successful in the labour market. Therefore, the measurement and evaluation of project work courses may provide new information on course-level service quality and may be linked to total student experience results.

Organisational form and performance in fashion retailing

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pericles Ramón Mejía-Vásquez ◽  
Roberto Sánchez-Gómez ◽  
Sheila Serafim da Silva ◽  
Luis Vázquez-Suárez
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Vertical Integration ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aggregated Data ◽  
Organisational Form ◽  
Level Data ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Key Indicators ◽  
Level Performance

PurposeThis research seeks to discover how the organisational form (franchising vs vertical integration) of 384 fashion stores belonging to a Spanish franchise chain influences unit-level performance measured through three key indicators commonly used in the retail literature: sales per square metre, sales per employee and service quality scores.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have analysed this research question using bivariate and multivariate analyses, with a panel dataset that includes quarterly establishment-level data covering the period from January 2018 to December 2019.FindingsThe aggregated data initially reveal weaker outcomes among franchised establishments. However, after controlling for other variables related to the fashion stores and their local markets, the authors have found that franchised establishments record higher sales both per square metre and per employee than vertically integrated stores. The findings also reveal that franchised establishments record lower service quality scores than their company-owned counterparts.Originality/valueNothing has been published on the differences between franchising and company ownership in terms of establishment-level performance in fashion retailing.

Quantitative representation of perception and evaluation method for service quality in university library under 4-D space

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingyi Wang ◽  
Run Yuan ◽  
Hongwei Shi
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Library Service ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
Library Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Parameters

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the service quality of university library more accurately and dynamically and improve the service efficiency of library. The paper realizes quantified representation of library service quality and overcomes the shortcoming of the traditional library evaluation system, which does not consider reader’s identity and cannot be evaluated separately. In addition, according to the function configuration of each department of library, a relation between library evaluation parameter and its organization structure is built. According to the evaluation results and the chain of relations, some suggestions for improving library service can be put forward; thus, it can improve the quality of library service and management efficiency. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, a four-dimensional (4-D) representation method is put forward to express four kinds of parameters, namely, the category of participants, the number of people evaluated, the rating level and the weight of parameters, which is expressed by chromaticity and a three-dimensional column coordinate space. Considering the existing evaluation methods such as LibQUAL+TM, the content of evaluation parameters, the grade of evaluation parameters and the weight of evaluation parameters are modified. Using the volume and the equivalent number of people under this evaluation system, the evaluation grade can be quantified and the total results can be evaluated quantitatively. Findings The evaluation model proposed in this paper is a 4-D system that is based on content parameters to evaluate the number of participants, score segments, evaluation content weights and reader information. It gives full consideration to the good advice of many scholars and combines the actual operation of domestic libraries. The situation effectively integrates successful experience abroad. Both the undergraduate and teacher sampling evaluation results and their analysis in this paper show the accuracy and credibility of the method. Originality/value Although the satisfaction index model has a good effect in foreign countries, taking into account that readers of university libraries in China are different from those in foreign countries in the evaluation methods of the tutorial, professional multi-level evaluation will produce greater errors in practical applications. The traditional four-level method based on Chinese education evaluation (excellent, good, pass and fail) has reached consensus among teachers and students in practical application, and it is easy to achieve consistency. Therefore, this paper also adopts four-level evaluation, that is, very satisfied, satisfied, generally satisfied and very dissatisfied. The embedded application will be able to perform dynamic evaluation and thus can be used in China. The evaluation of service quality in university libraries provides an effective new method.

scholarly journals Service quality at the London 2012 games – a paralympics athletes survey

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bamford ◽  
Benjamin Dehe
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Single Case ◽  
The Body ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
London 2012 ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Mega Event

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on aspects of service quality at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, from a rather unusual perspective, the athletes. To date there has been little evidence captured about athlete’s satisfaction at sporting events, and specifically about their perceptions of the service quality provided. Design/methodology/approach – Unique “full” access to the London 2012 Paralympics allowed to the collection of data directly from the athletes. The study reports the questionnaire findings from a sample of 250 respondents. Findings – From this study an operational assessment and performance framework has been generated composed of ten criteria and 73 items or sub-criteria, which can be used as a benchmarking tool to plane, design and compare future sport mega-event. Moreover, the study evidence based the high quality of the 2012 Paralympics Games, as he athletes rated, on a five point Likert scale, 64 items in the “very satisfied” category, a very positive set of feedback for the Games organisers. Research limitations/implications – The methodology applied was appropriate, generating data to facilitate discussion and draw specific conclusions from. A perceived limitation is the single case approach; however, this can be enough to add to the body of knowledge where very little evidence has been captured so far and where the objectives were to explore the Paralympics games service quality and performance. Practical implications – This research provides a tangible evidence base to support future sport event decision makers, planners and designers in this highly complex “arena”. In any system there are always areas for improvement, these are highlighted within the paper for further investigation. Originality/value – This is the first paper to identify and synthesize aspects of sport mega event service quality from the athletes viewpoint and informs how well designed, organised and managed the London 2012 Games were from a primary user perspective. The paper makes a defined contribution by developing evidence based recommendations for this important yet under researched area.

Relationships among lean, service quality expectation and performance in hospitals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Assadej Vanichchinchai
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Measurement Instruments ◽  
Quality Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Outpatient Departments ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Positive Direct

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the links between lean, service quality expectation (SQE) and service quality performance (SQP) in outpatient departments (OPD). Design/methodology/approach The measurement instruments were developed from a comprehensive literature review, then verified by experts and confirmatory factor analysis. Multiple responses were applied to improve the reliability of data obtained from 220 Thai hospitals. The hypotheses were tested with linear regression and path analysis of structural equation modeling. Findings It was found that lean has significant positive impacts on all SQP dimensions (i.e. tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) and on overall SQP. SQE has significant positive direct effects on lean and SQP, and has a significant positive indirect effect on SQP through lean. Originality/value This is one of the first examples of research to present insights into the relationships between lean, SQE and SQP in OPD.

Logistics service quality in an emergent market in Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Michalski ◽  
José Luis Montes-Botella
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Logistics Service ◽  
Challenging Environment ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Logistics Service Quality

PurposeThis paper aims to determine how the level of logistics service quality facilitates logistics performance in emerging markets. The authors chose Ecuador because it is an emerging economy with relatively stable economic development, making it an attractive research platform in a challenging environment for logistics services. The authors empirically test the influence on performance and one another of five dimensions of service quality: reliability, responsiveness, empathy, assurance and tangibility.Design/methodology/approachSERVQUAL and partial least squares structural equation modeling was undertaken to test the proposed relationships empirically.FindingsThe performance was positively related to assurance, tangibility and reliability but negatively related to the responsiveness and empathy dimensions. The findings suggest the order of priority for improvement actions. The findings highlight that the existing relationships in developed markets do not apply in the same manner in emerging markets.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough representative, data were only collected in one specific market.Practical implicationsThe results reveal a mix of activities that managers should develop to improve the services they provide, relationships with customers and performance.Originality/valueFew other works have explored logistics service quality in South America's emerging markets. According to contingency theory, various combinations of service quality dimensions can influence performance, suggesting that managers should aim for optimal fit between dimensions according to internal and external situations. An efficient and effective combination in one case may be unsuccessful in another. The approaches presented can improve relationships within global supply chains, especially regarding logistics management.

The mediation effects of finance on the relationship between service quality and performance of hospital facilities management services

Facilities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Amos ◽  
Cheong Peng Au-Yong ◽  
Zairul Nisham Musa
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Mediation Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose With rising health-care costs and the financial constraints in most developing countries, prioritization of needs have become an issue of strategic importance in public hospitals. As a result, there is the intense competition of scare resources between core health care and non-core facilities management (FM) services. Given that financial resources are needed to facilitate the smooth operation of the FM department, this paper aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of finance on the relationship between service quality and performance of hospital FM services. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a quantitative approach following a general questionnaire survey which was conducted on the research population. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relationships between service quality and performance of hospital FM services. Findings The study highlights the relevance of service quality to improving FM performance and demonstrate the direct and indirect influence of finance to ensure quality FM services delivery to improve core health care outcomes in hospitals. Practical implications The result of this study should motivate hospital management to prioritize attention on FM in scare resources management in public hospitals to create and maintain a decent health-care environment for better health outcomes. Further, managerial commitment to facilitate employee training, empowerment, incentives, awards and compensation should be strengthened in the quest of ensuring quality services delivery. Originality/value The paper extends knowledge by mediating the influence of finance on the relationship between service quality and FM performance. Proposes a parsimonious financial mediation framework which can easily be adaptable to several developing countries health-care FM management.

Importance-performance analysis (IPA) for testing – and calibration – laboratories in India

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 1232-1244
Author(s):  
Nagarajan Karthiyayini ◽  
C. Rajendran ◽  
Munusamy Kumaravel
Keyword(s):  
Performance Analysis ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Quality Management System ◽  
Laboratory Accreditation ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Decisions ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Calibration Laboratories

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to formulate the strategy for improving the laboratory practices to enhance customer satisfaction by analyzing the performance of critical factors of IS/ISO/IEC 17025 (2005) laboratory accreditation and the importance attached by the quality/technical managers in the accredited Indian testing/calibration laboratories. Design/methodology/approach The perceptions of the critical factors of laboratory accreditation and the importance attached by the quality/technical managers in their organizations have been collected and analyzed to develop an importance-performance analysis (IPA) model to enhance the customer satisfaction. Findings Findings report that the performance of the critical factors and the importance assigned to them are not the same. There exist gaps between the performance and importance which need to be measured and analyzed by the management to strive toward continual improvement to enhance the customer satisfaction through the accredited testing and calibration services. Research limitations/implications This study is restricted to 54 responses out of 150 which were sent (i.e. about 36 percent response rate) to capture the perspectives of the quality/technical managers. Practical implications This study would enable the accredited laboratories to analyze the gap in performance and the importance assigned to critical factors through the feedback from the quality/technical managers. By analyzing the strengths and weaknesses in the accredited testing/calibration laboratories, managerial decisions and strategic plans can be proposed to gain greater insights into benchmarking improvement of the laboratory quality management system with the existing resources to strive toward customer satisfaction. Originality/value This paper proposes IPA as a tool to assess the gap between the importance and performance of critical factors of accredited testing and calibration laboratories in India.

Managing the perception of service quality; the importance of understanding differences between demographic and behavioural customer segments amongst theme park visitors

Facilities ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 486-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anestis Fotiadis ◽  
Metin Kozak
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Time Allocation ◽  
Theme Park ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Service Quality ◽  
Performance Factors ◽  
Quality Perceptions ◽  
Cost Allocations ◽  
Behavioural Factors ◽  
And Performance

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the perception of service quality among various demographic and behavioural visitor segments within the theme park tourism market. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire which was distributed to 655 theme park visitors. Different groups of visitors were identified through the use of cluster analysis based on the evaluation of both demographic variables and a number of behavioural factors associated with their characteristics in terms of “time and cost” allocations for visits to a theme park. Findings The findings confirm that differences in demographic characteristics significantly affect perceptions of visitors as demonstrated in the way they are likely to evaluate importance and performance factors in a theme park’s delivery of services. In contrast, behavioural segmentation in terms of time allocation and associated expenditure is unlikely to produce significant differences in the visitors’ perceptions of the level of service provided. Originality/value Although there are many studies related to visitors’ perceived service quality, none of them use the same methodology as applied in this study of theme park industry. The research results reveal important implications for the theme park industry because of this new understanding of the segmentation differences for visitor-perceived service quality. By directing attention of management to these differences, improvements in service quality perceptions can more readily be achieved.

Evaluating health service quality: using importance performance analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 656-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azar Izadi ◽  
Younes Jahani ◽  
Sima Rafiei ◽  
Ali Masoud ◽  
Leila Vali
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Performance Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Medical Inpatients ◽  
Health Service Quality ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Improve Service Quality

Purpose Measuring healthcare service quality provides an objective guide for managers and policy makers to improve their services and patient satisfaction. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to measure service quality provided to surgical and medical inpatients at Kerman Medical Sciences University (KUMS) in 2015. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive-analytic study, using a cross-sectional method in the KUMS training hospitals, was implemented between October 2 and March 15, 2015. Using stratified random sampling, 268 patients were selected. Data were collected using an importance-performance analysis (IPA) questionnaire, which measures current performance and determines each item’s importance from the patients’ perspectives. These data indicate overall satisfaction and appropriate practical strategies for managers to plan accordingly. Findings Findings revealed a significant gap between service importance and performance. From the patients’ viewpoint, tangibility was the highest priority (mean=3.54), while reliability was given the highest performance (mean=3.02). The least important and lowest performance level was social accountability (mean=1.91 and 1.98, respectively). Practical implications Healthcare managers should focus on patient viewpoints and apply patient comments to solve problems, improve service quality and patient satisfaction. Originality/value The authors applied an IPA questionnaire to measure service quality provided to surgical and medical ward patients. This method identifies and corrects service quality shortcomings and improving service recipient perceptions.

Spectator perception of service quality attributes associated with Shanghai Formula One

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suk-kyu Kim ◽  
Brian H. Yim ◽  
Kevin K. Byon ◽  
Jae-Gu Yu ◽  
Sung-Min Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Formula One ◽  
Lower Priority ◽  
Sporting Event ◽  
Strategic Direction ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Effective Service

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine spectator perceptions of service quality at the Formula One (F-1) event in Shanghai by means of Martilla and James’ Importance and Performance Analysis (IPA). Design/methodology/approach – The items were plotted on the four IPA dimensions, including: Concentrate Here; Keep Up the Good Work; Lower Priority; and Possible Overkill. Findings – The results indicated that staff courtesy seems to be the strength of the event. However, concession quality, food prices, and arena accessibility, including restrooms at the Shanghai F-1 event, did not meet spectators’ expectations. In addition, the results suggested that in any spectator sporting event, food consumption helps to create a positive experience. Therefore, IPA revealed that service quality related to concessions, food pricing, and arena accessibility at the Shanghai F-1 are in need of immediate improvement, whereas staff courtesy and race visuals were satisfactory. Originality/value – The findings will help marketers prioritize certain services and offer strategic direction in effective service provision by highlighting management problems.

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