Measuring Retail Service Quality: Examining Applicability of International Research Perspectives in India

Service quality is being increasingly perceived as a tool to increase value for the consumer; and as a means of positioning in a competitive environment to ensure consumer satisfaction, retention, and patronage. Existing research indicates that consumers satisfied with the store�s service quality are most likely to remain loyal. However, despite its strategic importance, Indian retailers do not have an appropriate and established instrument to measure service quality. This study examines the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) developed in the US for applicability in India. RSQS has five dimensions and six sub-dimensions and has been found appropriate in a variety of settings — across different countries such as South Africa and Singapore and across a variety of store types such as supermarkets, department stores, and hyper stores. The five dimensions — Physical Aspects, Reliability, Personal Interaction, Problem Solving, and Policy�are believed to capture distinct though correlated aspects of retail service. Each of the first three dimensions has two sub-dimensions. These six sub-dimensions, also called the first-order factors, are labelled as Appearance, Convenience, Promises, Doingit-Right, Inspiring Confidence, and Courteousness/Helpfulness. The dimensions and sub-dimensions provide strategic focus areas for retailers, enabling them to improve certain aspects of store service where performance is relatively poor. Data using a survey questionnaire from 144 adult shoppers at large format apparel stores in the city of Bangalore indicates that: The RSQS dimensions and sub-dimensions are not clearly identifiable. The dimension of �Physical Appearance� is the only one that is relatively clear. All other dimensions are ill-defined. The dimension of ‘Problem-Solving’ is hazy and all the remaining dimensions of RSQS comprise one factor. RSQS has limited diagnostic application. Consequently, retailers would find RSQS a poor instrument to help identify strategic areas requiring focus to improve service levels. The scale can, at best, be employed to assess overall service quality levels and for tracking overall improvements over a period of time. RSQS is inappropriate for application in Indian retail. Pre-test interviews of shoppers indicate that several service aspects mentioned by shoppers during interviews are not included in RSQS. Much future research is needed to develop a scale appropriate for the Indian context.

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The Influence of Service Quality on Customer Loyalty Intentions: A Study in the Vietnam Retail Sector

Asian Social Science ◽

10.5539/ass.v12n2p112 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 112 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

The Ninh Nguyen ◽

Hoang Long Nguyen ◽

Tuan Khanh Cao ◽

Thi Thu Hoai Phan

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Service Quality ◽

Customer Loyalty ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Retail Sector ◽

Five Dimensions ◽

Personal Interaction ◽

Retail Service ◽

Loyalty Intentions ◽

Retail Service Quality

<p>There is a paucity of knowledge relating to retail service quality and customer loyalty intentions in emerging markets, and especially in Vietnam. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between these two variables in the Vietnam retail sector. Survey data are collected from 502 respondents who are current customers of eight retail stores in the city of Hanoi. The results support five dimensions of retail service quality, namely personal interaction, store policy, physical aspects, reliability and problem solving. Out of these, three dimensions of reliability, personal interaction and problem solving are significantly associated with customer loyalty intentions. This study contributes to the evolving literature and suggests that local and foreign retailers should particularly invest time and effort to increase stores’ reliability, quality of customer interaction and effectiveness in solving customer problems. </p>

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Retail Service Quality and its Effect on Customer Perception: A Study of Select Supermarket in Mandya, Karnataka

Asian Journal of Managerial Science ◽

10.51983/ajms-2019.8.2.1552 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 49-54

Author(s):

G. Arun Kumar

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Service Quality ◽

Likert Scale ◽

Five Dimensions ◽

Customer Perception ◽

The Past ◽

Personal Interaction ◽

Retail Service ◽

Wide Range ◽

Retail Service Quality

The performance of the retailing sector from the past few has been outstanding. The paper focuses on retail service quality that contributes to customer perception. Retail service quality was measured by using five dimensions like reliability, personal interaction, physical aspects, problem solving and policy. The research used RSQS scale at More Supermarket in Mandya city. The data was collected from 200 respondents using likert scale and SPSS 19 versions was used to analyse the data. The result revealed that all the five dimensions were positively significant to customer perception. Positive Customer perception is very important to a business as it leads to loyalty and in return make repeat orders, the organisation also offers a wide range of services to its customer.

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Online Retail Service Quality: Scale Development and Validation

Vision The Journal of Business Perspective ◽

10.1177/09722629211011282 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 097226292110112

Author(s):

Biranchi Narayan Swar ◽

Rajesh Panda

Keyword(s):

Service Quality ◽

Technology Acceptance ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Measurement Scale ◽

Future Research ◽

Market Place ◽

Online Retail ◽

Online Retailers ◽

Retail Service ◽

Retail Service Quality

The growth of online retailing has created an opportunity to create a scale specifically for online retail services. At the same time, the increasing rate of internet penetration in India coupled with electronic banking and wallets has formed new market place for many online retailers. In this context, to gain competitive advantage, the online retailers should provide better service quality. Thus, the present research tries to know the various constructs of retail service quality (RSQ) in online format and develop a measurement scale. The study has borrowed the constructs from ‘Retail Service Quality’ (RSQ) and ‘Technology Acceptance Model’ (TAM). For this purpose, we collected data from 600 respondents. The scale has been confirmed and validated by using CFA. The study confirmed that online RSQ (ORSQ) scale consists of four constructs: ‘Ease of Use’, ‘Problem Solving’, ‘Policy’ and ‘Reliability’ with 18 variables. The article has concluded and validated a scale for ORSQ which can help the online retailers to design their service offering. The implications of the ORSQ scale for practitioners, as well as for future research, are discussed in this article.

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The Effect of Service Quality on Customer Loyalty of Generation Y – An Empirical Investigation on Superstores in Bangladesh

Malaysian Management Journal ◽

10.32890/mmj.22.2018.9677 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mirza Mohammad Didarul Alam

Keyword(s):

Service Quality ◽

Customer Loyalty ◽

Generation Y ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Future Research ◽

Physical Aspect ◽

Gen Y ◽

Retail Service ◽

Retail Service Quality

Today, retailers have been struggling to retain their existing customers in the face of severe competition in their business operations. By expanding the service quality, retailers will be able to stand out among the other businesses and create the opportunity to strengthen customer loyalty, particularly within the younger generation. The aim of this study is to propose and empirically investigate the mechanism of increasing customer loyalty of Generation Y (Gen Y) toward superstores by means of enhancing service quality practices. Based on a structured questionnaire, data was collected from 252 Gen Y consumers who have visited four leading superstores in Bangladesh. The data was analyzed through SEMPLS3.0 to test the validity of the measures, and used to examine the hypothesized relationships by employing structural equation modeling. The findings show that the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing service quality in the retail sector of Bangladesh. The structural model indicates that the customer loyalty of Gen Y toward superstores is positively influenced by retail service quality dimensions such as policy, reliability, personal interaction, physical aspect, and problem solving, in the order of influencing strength. This paper provides the research implications and avenue for future research.

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Impact of Retail Service Quality and Store Service Quality on Patronage Intention towards Organized Retail Industry

Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT) ◽

10.17762/turcomat.v12i3.944 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 1462-1471

Author(s):

P.S.Venkateswaran Et.al

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Customer Satisfaction ◽

Service Quality ◽

Word Of Mouth ◽

Retail Industry ◽

Retail Service ◽

Loyal Customer ◽

Patronage Intention ◽

Retail Service Quality ◽

The Impact

Purpose: A proper service increases the customer satisfaction and positive word of mouth. The aim of this paper is to find out the impact of retail service quality and store service quality on patronage intention and word of mouth towards organized retail industry. Design/methodology/approach: The study data were collected from [location masked for blind review] using a structured questionnaire. A sample of 419 was used. A structural model was developed for analysis to find out the linkage between study variables. Findings/results: Findings reveal that retail service quality and store service quality are increasing the customer satisfaction. The findings showed that retail service quality, store service quality, and customer satisfaction significantly impact patronage intention and word of mouth. Problem solving is the major issue faced by the retail stores. Hence they have to take immediate action towards it to maintain their loyal customer base Practical implications: Problem-solving is not having significant relationships with customer satisfaction. Store managers have to create a pleasant experience and amplify the strength factors to create a bond between the store and the customers Originality/value: This paper is helpful to the retail store managers as well as new entrepreneurs who are going to start a new venture in the retail business.

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KURUMSAL İTİBAR VE HİZMET KALİTESİNİN MÜŞTERİ MEMNUNİYETİ ÜZERİNE ETKİLERİ: İSTANBUL’DA ALIŞVERİŞ MERKEZLERİNDE BİR ARAŞTIRMA

Business And Management Studies An International Journal ◽

10.15295/bmij.v4i2.43 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Adnan Duygun ◽

S. Ahmet Menteş

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Customer Satisfaction ◽

Service Quality ◽

Corporate Reputation ◽

Physical Appearance ◽

Retail Sector ◽

Shopping Malls ◽

Quality Scale ◽

Retail Service ◽

Retail Service Quality

Retailing, with the growing number of Shopping Malls, is a booming sector. The main purpose of this study is to develop and test a model to reveal the influence of corporate reputation and service quality on customer satisfaction in retail sector. The study employs RepTrak scale to measure the corporate reputation and retail service quality scale (RSQS) to measure the retail service quality. The results reveal that corporate reputation has no effect on customer satisfaction. Physical appearance and materials, communication and problem solving that factors of retail service quality, are proved to have an effect on customer satisfaction. Moreover, the results exhibit that there ise a significant and positive relationsihip between corporate reputation and retail service quality. The study also makes recomandations and suggestions for further researchs.

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Measuring Retail Service Quality: An Empirical Assessment of the Instrument

Vikalpa The Journal for Decision Makers ◽

10.1177/0256090920060203 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 45-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Darshan Parikh

Keyword(s):

Service Quality ◽

Retail Store ◽

Retail Stores ◽

Retail Sector ◽

Five Dimensions ◽

Perceived Service Quality ◽

Retail Service ◽

The Government ◽

Retail Service Quality

Retailing in India is growing at the rate of about 18-20 per cent per annum. As part of its strategy to gradually open it up to foreign competition, the government is also in the process of increasing foreign direct investment in the retail sector. At the same time, the urban consumer is becoming more discerning and demanding as far as the lifestyle is concerned. Urban Indian household income and purchasing power are also on the rise. Under such circumstances, the success of organized retailing in India mainly depends on delivery of services through quality improvements. In service organizations, customer-perceived service quality is considered as one of the key determinants of business performance. So far, in the Indian context, there is a dearth of tested instruments which can measure customer-perceived service quality of a retail store. At the same time, instruments developed in other countries have not been tested for their applicability in the Indian retail industry. It is in this context that this paper reports on the application of Dabholkar, Thorpe and Rentz's (1996) retail service quality scale in measuring the gap between the customers' expectations and their perceptions about the service quality of retail stores in India. Statistical analyses were performed to test the dimensionality of service quality and to examine the reliability of the scale. Finally, the analysis of the gap scores was used to suggest relevant improvements in the retail store service quality. The results indicate the following: Although the instrument was found to be quite reliable, the gap scores did not merge into five dimensions of service quality as proposed by the scale developers; rather, the gap scores roughly merged into nine dimensions. The instrument and the five dimensions of service quality may need considerable restructuring. A few statements which showed considerable reliability problems should be restated or substituted by more relevant statements. The instrument may not be applicable to the retail sector in India without further restructuring. Further research is necessary to understand retail store service quality in India. The analysis of the gap scores indicates that the highest perceived service gap lies in the policies of the retail stores, particularly, parking facilities provided by them. Apart from this, all other statements also show a negative gap implying the need for considerable improvements in retail service quality. Therefore, as organized retailing develops in India, retail stores in India will have to improve the quality of their services significantly in order to compete successfully in the global marketplace.

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