Islamic and Muslim tourism: service quality and theme parks in the UAE

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 402-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamya Abbas Darwish Abdulla Lari ◽  
Shilpa Iyanna ◽  
Fauzia Jabeen
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Theme Park ◽  
Theme Parks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Tourism Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify dimensions of theme park quality from an Islamic perspective and develop a framework to examine the interrelationships between theme park service quality dimensions, visitor delight and visitor loyalty in theme parks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a detailed literature review and analysis of visitors’ comments on TripAdvisor.com about their experience in theme parks in the UAE. Findings Theme park service quality can be assessed across 4 main dimensions (physical environment, interaction, consumables and access) and 13 sub-dimensions. A relationship is proposed between these dimensions and visitors’ delight, with visitor loyalty a consequence of visitor delight. Nationality is proposed to have a moderating effect on the delight–loyalty relationship. Originality/value This study attempts to propose a model for theme park service quality that reflects both traditional dimensions of service quality and dimensions related to Islamic attributes. It is one of very few attempts to investigate theme park visitors’ perception of service quality and its relation to delight and loyalty in the UAE. It is also, as far as the authors are aware, the first study to investigate the moderating effect of nationality on the delight–loyalty relationship.

Prioritising theme park service quality in Islamic contexts: an analytic hierarchy process approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-237
Author(s):  
Lamya Lari ◽  
Fauzia Jabeen ◽  
Shilpa Iyanna
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Theme Park ◽  
Theme Parks ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions

Purpose This study aims to develop a framework to identify, categorise and prioritise the dimensions of service quality in theme parks in an Islamic cultural context. Design/methodology/approach An extensive literature review was conducted to identify service quality dimensions in theme parks in an Islamic cultural context, and a survey tool was used to explore visitors’ opinions of the most important dimensions and sub-dimensions. An analytic hierarchy process was used to prioritise the main criteria and sub-criteria of dimensions of theme park service quality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study identified four main criteria and 24 sub-criteria of service quality for the theme park industry from an Islamic perspective. Findings Consumables quality and physical environment quality were the top priorities under the main criteria. Availability of halal food was the most important sub-criteria of service quality in theme parks in the UAE, followed by price of food and beverages and staff attitude and behaviour in equal second place, and then quality of food and beverages and quality of facilities, again with equal scores. Research limitations/implications The study focused on tourists visiting an emerging country, and the results therefore cannot be generalised to other cultural contexts. This study has developed a comprehensive model of theme park service quality using a hierarchical method. This included both general and Islamic service quality dimensions. This study, therefore, contributes to the “Islamic tourism” literature by identifying the importance of Islamic attributes in evaluating service quality of theme parks in Islamic countries. Practical implications The outcome of the study will provide local and international theme parks with explicit ideas about the service quality dimensions that are important in an Islamic cultural context. This will help them to prioritise the critical service quality dimensions, and eventually contribute to the successful management of theme parks. Originality/value This study offers new insights into the dimensions of service quality of theme parks in an Islamic cultural context.

Event quality and loyalty among runners with different running involvement levels

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostantinos Alexandris ◽  
Nicholas Theodorakis ◽  
Kiki Kaplanidou ◽  
Dimitra Papadimitriou
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Environment ◽  
Event Marketing ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate if the three service quality dimensions (service environment, interaction and outcome quality), proposed by Brady and Cronin (2001), influence the development of event loyalty, among runners of the “‘Alexander the Great’ International Marathon”, and to test if running loyalty moderates the relationship between event quality and event loyalty. Design/methodology/approach In all, 368 runners participated in the study and filled the Sport Event Quality Questionnaire (Theodorakis et al., 2015) and an adjusted version of the Leisure Involvement Questionnaire (Kyle et al., 2010). Findings The results indicated that only the service environment and outcome dimensions contributed significantly to the prediction of event loyalty, while, and in contrast to other sport services, interaction quality was not shown to be an important determinant for the development of event loyalty. Furthermore, running involvement was shown to play a moderating role in the relationship between event quality and event loyalty. Service quality is more important for the development of event loyalty among low- than high-involved runners. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed. Research limitations/implications The study provided results on how high- and low-involved runners perceive event quality, and for which of these groups the event quality is an important antecedent for the development of event loyalty. Practical implications Investigating the moderating role of involvement on the relationship between service quality and loyalty has also applied value. While committed runners have been traditionally seen as a key target group for event marketing professionals, the majority of runners in city marathons today are more leisure oriented. The increase in the number of leisure runners is actually the reason for the rapid growth of city marathons in the last few years. Meeting the needs of these leisure runners and increasing their loyalty levels is therefore a key task for marathon marketers today. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature, as for the first time it explores the moderating role of involvement on the relationship between service quality and loyalty in the context of a sport event.

Interrelations of service quality and service loyalty dimensions in medical tourism

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bikash Ranjan Debata ◽  
Bhaswati Patnaik ◽  
Siba Sankar Mahapatra ◽  
Kumar Sree
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Service Loyalty ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions ◽  
Tourism Service

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the dimensions of service quality as well as of service loyalty in the context of medical tourism. It seeks to demonstrate the conceptualization of medical tourism service loyalty (MTSL) construct. This research also attempts to examine the effect of service quality dimensions on service loyalty dimensions of medical tourism. Design/methodology/approach – The dimensions of service quality as well as of service loyalty are identified using an exploratory factor analysis. Next, the reliability and validity of the quality factors and loyalty factors are established through confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 18.0 version. The related hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings – The paper identifies eight-factor construct for medical tourism service quality and three-factor construct for MTSL. It is found that the treatment satisfaction dimension of service quality has positive and significant impact on MTSL. It is also observed that, overall, medical tourism service quality has positive impact on MTSL. Practical implications – These dimensions of service quality should be viewed as the levers of improving perceived service quality with respect to medical tourism. Examining the service quality dimensions’ impact on customer loyalty for medical tourism sector can offer the industry valuable insights regarding which aspects of the service to focus on in order to improve medical tourist’s satisfaction and loyalty toward the firms. Originality/value – This paper introduces the concept of service quality and service loyalty in medical tourism sector. In conceptualizing MTSL, the authors propose an integration of behavioral measures, attitudinal measures and cognitive measures. The interrelationship between the service quality construct and medical loyalty construct was established using SEM. This is useful for the healthcare manager to measure the medical tourist’s perceptions of service quality on these dimensions as related to medical tourism performance.

Service quality dimensions as predictors of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the banking industry: moderating effects of gender

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viraiyan Teeroovengadum
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
Partial Least Squares ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions

Purpose The link between service quality and customer satisfaction has been well established; however, there are strong reasons to believe that gender moderates the effects of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction. This study aims to uncover gender-based heterogeneity pertaining to the link between service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction in the context of banking services. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a survey design. Data is collected from 282 customers of banks in Mauritius. Because of the prediction-oriented aim of the present study, the partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique is used to test a set of relevant hypotheses. Findings The results provide mixed findings and the moderating effect of gender is found to be statistically significant for one service quality dimension but not for the other two. The permutation and partial least squares-multigroup analysis tests both support the hypothesis that gender moderates the relationship between environment quality and customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications Only customer satisfaction has been included as a mediator of service quality and customer loyalty link. Previous studies have identified other relevant constructs, such as image and the perceived value, as mediators. Future studies could consider including these constructs when testing gender’s moderating effects. Finally, given the significant moderating effect of gender, which suggests that the satisfaction of male customers depends to a larger extent on environmental quality, there is a need to further explore the specific expectations of male customers with this particular component of bank services. Practical implications The results show that male and female customers react differently to quality stimuli in the context of bank services has important managerial implications. It is highly recommended that banks develop differential strategies for both male and female customers. Originality/value The primary contribution of this study focuses on exploring the moderating effect of gender on the relationships between service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction among bank customers.

Moderating role of religion in the relationship between SERVQUAL dimensions and hotel guest satisfaction

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Precious Chikezie Ezeh ◽  
Titus Chukwuemezie Okeke ◽  
Anayo D. Nkamnebe
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Guest Satisfaction ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

Purpose Religion is one of the factors that are considered in developing marketing strategy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of religion (Islam and Christianity) in the relationship between SERVQUAL dimensions and satisfaction of hotel guest in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study was collected from 400 hotel customers in Nigeria (Zamfara and Anambra), and was analyzed using structural equation modeling technique (Amos). Also, composite reliability and average variance extracted were used to test the reliability and validity of the instrument. Findings The study found that religion has a significant moderating effect on the service quality dimensions and hotel guest satisfaction. In other words, there is significant difference on how Muslim and Christian hotel guests evaluate service quality dimensions and satisfaction. Moreover, the result shows that the empathy and assurance dimensions are the most important significant predictors of guest satisfaction. Moreover, religion has significant positive effect on guest satisfaction. Practical implications The study shows that religion significantly moderate the service quality dimensions. Therefore, the hotel management should focus on providing training programs that will enable the employees to offer superior personalized services to strengthen and nurture long-term guest relationships. Originality/value The inclusion of moderating effect of religion made this study very unique. Furthermore, the peculiarity and religious sentiments of the Nigeria business environment made this work outstanding.

Nonlinear impact of online retail characteristics on customer satisfaction and loyalty

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 152-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerson Tontini ◽  
Júlio Cesar da Silva ◽  
Eliane Fátima Strapazzon Beduschi ◽  
Elis Regina Mulinari Zanin ◽  
Margarete de Fátima Marcon
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Fault Recovery ◽  
Online Retail ◽  
Content Type ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Service Accessibility ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions ◽  
Customer Satisfaction And Loyalty

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the nonlinear impact of online retail stores’ quality dimensions on general customer satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach – Using a quantitative approach, 429 online users answered a closed questionnaire regarding their present satisfaction with 26 service attributes, their general satisfaction and loyalty. Using factorial analysis with Varimax rotation, five service-quality dimensions are studied: service accessibility/speed, fault recovery, buying reliability, service and site flexibility and site interaction/feedback. Penalty and reward contrast analysis identifies the Kano model classification of the service-quality dimensions, and the nonlinear impact of these dimensions, and customer satisfaction, on customer loyalty. Findings – The results show that there is a nonlinearity between quality dimensions, customer satisfaction and loyalty. The dimension “service accessibility/speed” has a one-dimensional impact on customer satisfaction, but with higher reward impact than penalty impact. “Fault recovery” is a “must-be”, “buying reliability” and “service flexibility” are “attractive” and “site interaction/feedback” is one-dimensional. Besides, the dimension “service accessibility/speed” has also a direct impact on loyalty if achieving above-average performance, thus reinforcing general customer satisfaction. Originality/value – Few previous papers explore this nonlinearity in online retail services. So, future studies should lead to a theoretical and practical understanding of managing these services. Understanding this nonlinearity may help companies to better identify what improve or offer to customers.

The impact of perceived service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishi Kant ◽  
Deepak Jaiswal
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Corporate Image ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Service Quality ◽  
Public Sector Banks ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In the present competitive scenario in the Indian banking industry, service quality has become one of the most important facets of interest to academic researchers. The purpose of this paper is to determine the dimensions of perceived service quality and investigate their impact on customer satisfaction in the Indian banking context, with special reference to selected public sector banks in India. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of the empirical study, the authors validate a measurement model using structural equation modeling for investigating the impact of perceived service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction. The study sample consists of 480 respondents in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India; the data were collected through a structured questionnaire utilizing a seven-point Likert scale while implementing a purposive sampling technique. Findings The perceived service quality dimensions identified were tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness, empathy, and image. The empirical findings revealed that “responsiveness” was found to be the most significant predictor of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, “image” (corporate image) has a positive but the least significant relationship with customer satisfaction followed by all other constructs. The exception is “reliability,” which is insignificantly related to customer satisfaction in Indian public sector banks. Research limitations/implications The study cannot be generalized in the context of Indian banking sectors, as it only focused on the public sector. The findings of this study suggest that the six dimensions of perceived service quality model are a suitable instrument for evaluating bank service quality for public banks in India. Therefore, bank managers can use this model to assess the bank service quality in the context of Indian public sector banks. Originality/value There is dearth of research focusing on corporate image as a dimension of perceived service quality and its effect on customer satisfaction in the Indian banking context. Furthermore, similar studies were rarely found in the Indian context, especially within the public banking sector. Hence, this paper attempts to accomplish the research gap by empirically testing the satisfaction level of a large sample of the population in NCR toward six dimensions of perceived service quality rendered by selected public sector banks in India.

Consumer responses to environmental corporate social responsibility and luxury

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Schill ◽  
Delphine Godefroit-Winkel
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Consumer Attitudes ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Responses ◽  
Consumer Emotions ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) framework, this study presents an original model examining the influence of environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR), luxury and service quality dimensions on consumer emotions that in turn influence consumer attitudes towards the shopping mall. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling is applied to data from a sample of 706 French consumers to test the hypotheses. Findings The results highlight the importance of environmental CSR, luxury and service quality dimensions as stimuli influencing positively consumer emotions, which in turn positively influence consumer attitudes. Research limitations/implications This study extends prior work in the field of services marketing and the S-O-R framework while considering environmental CSR, luxury and service quality dimensions as relevant stimuli. It further contributes to the literature of the shopping mall while examining relevant and unexplored antecedents to consumer emotions. Practical implications This paper provides tailored recommendations for shopping mall managers. It details how managers can use environmental CSR and luxury dimensions besides service quality as relevant stimuli in their positioning strategies to enhance consumer emotions and attitudes. Originality/value This study provides novel insights into shopping mall dimensions, i.e. environmental CSR, luxury and service quality, influencing consumer responses.

Innovative m-car rental service quality in India

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tejas R. Shah ◽  
Tejal T. Shah
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stable Factor ◽  
Car Rental ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions

Purpose The purpose of the study is to explore and analyze m-car rental service quality dimensions. Design/methodology/approach Exploratory factor analysis method is applied to explore the m-car rental service quality dimensions. Further, confirmatory factor analysis is done to prove the reliability and validity of the factors using AMOS 22.0. Findings The results reveal the m-car rental service quality dimensions: ambient quality, technical quality, comfort, safety and employee service, mobile convenience, mobile responsiveness, mobile efficiency and reliability and mobile safety and billing. Research limitations/implications The explored dimensions of car rental services are in Indian environment. So, these dimensions can be further validated in other similar cultural context. Practical implications The proposed measurements can also be applied to measure and compare the service quality performance of car rental firms. Originality/value Current literature does not confirm the stable factor structure of m-car rental service quality. This study confirms the reliable and valid dimensions of care rental service through mobile app.

M-shopping service quality dimensions and their effects on customer trust and loyalty: an empirical study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruoqing Zhang ◽  
Minjoon Jun ◽  
Sergio Palacios
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Service Quality Dimensions ◽  
Customer Trust

PurposeThe present study seeks to identify the salient mobile shopping (m-shopping) service quality dimensions as perceived by mobile shoppers (m-shoppers) and examines the linkages between the derived m-shopping service quality dimensions, customer trust and customer loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe research instrument is developed based upon the mostly validated measures of prior studies. A pretest of the questionnaire is conducted to assess the content validity of the measurement scales. An online survey is used to collect the required data. We employ structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze data collected from 286 m-shoppers.FindingsWe identify five key m-shopping service quality dimensions: responsiveness, personalization, ease of use, aesthetics and perceived risk based on an extensive review of relevant literature. The SEM results show that all the five m-shopping service quality dimensions significantly impact, directly and/or indirectly, customer loyalty. Moreover, the results show that trust plays a partial mediating role in the effects of responsiveness and personalization on loyalty; a full mediating role in the effects of aesthetics and perceived risk on loyalty and no mediating role in the effect of ease of use on loyalty.Practical implicationsMobile retailers (m-retailers) can use the quality measurement tool developed in this study to detect service quality weaknesses and strengths. Based on their quality assessment, m-retailers can effectively allocate corporate resources to the important service quality attributes uncovered by this study, thereby improving their overall service quality performance and in turn expanding their loyal customer base.Originality/valuePrior studies have demonstrated that service quality and customer trust play a pivotal role in enhancing customer loyalty in both offline and online settings. Unfortunately, no research has empirically examined the relationships between service quality dimensions, trust and loyalty in the context of m-shopping. Therefore, a major contribution of this study is to address this research gap and add knowledge to the limited body of post-adoption m-shopping research.

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