An improved service quality measurement model for soundscape assessment in urban public open spaces

2020 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2092552
Author(s):  
Rui Li ◽  
Dayi Ou ◽  
Sensen Pan

The well-known service quality measurement (SQM) models, Importance-Satisfaction (I-S) model and Improvement index (Ii) model, have been recently proved useful in the analysis of soundscape quality. By combining the concepts of soundscape and quality management, this paper proposes an improved SQM model for soundscape assessment in urban public open spaces. Instead of using the I-S model, the Preference-Satisfaction (P-S) model was developed for soundscape quality evaluation, which can simultaneously assess the importance, satisfaction and improvement direction of soundscape elements and provide more accurate and comprehensive information for guiding the soundscape management and improvement. The proposed methods were subsequently applied to case studies in eight ordinary urban public open spaces in Fujian Province, China, and provided detailed information about the soundscape quality of these surveyed open spaces as well as their improvement strategies. The results have demonstrated the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed method. To the authors' knowledge, practical applications of quality management methods (or its variations) to urban soundscape study are still limited in the literature; therefore, the proposed method and findings of the current study could be valuable for both practical soundscape design and academic research.

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Dhurup ◽  
PF Venter ◽  
A Oosthuyzen

The interest on quality issues have increased and attracted much attention in the last two decades. Limited academic research has been done in measuring service quality in a supermarket context. The research study attempts to clarify the conceptualisation and measurement of service quality within a supermarket environment. Multiple stages in the development of an instrument to measure supermarket service quality are explored. Exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to establish the dimensionality of the supermarket service quality scale. Several factor solutions were considered. A three-factor structure (atmospherics, physical interaction and shopping convenience) consisting of 24 items is proposed to capture the dimensions of service quality. The implications for future research are outlined.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1935-1955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha Ramanathan ◽  
Sandar Win ◽  
Andreas Wien

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the nature of the relationship between service quality and desired customer behaviours in the leasing market using an appropriate service quality measurement model. The authors take a step further by recognising the possible differences in influence of service quality in private and corporate customers, and those business dealings with low, medium and high lease values. Design/methodology/approach The authors use deduction method to test the SERVQUAL in the German leasing market and the relationship between customer satisfaction and desired behavioural outcomes. The developed questionnaire is based on the 22-item scale of the SERVQUAL approach. Samples are selected based on convenience sampling. Findings The authors found differences in the levels of influence by SERVQUAL dimensions on corporate and private customers as well as among those customers with different leasing contract values. From the regression analyses, it is clear that “assurance” from the leasing company is the most common SERVQUAL dimension that has significant impact on overall service quality perceptions and obtaining customers satisfaction and loyalty (behavioural outcomes). Originality/value The authors recognised that all financial services are not created equally to meet customer demands. Hence, the customer expectations of service quality from these services will be different. The authors contributed to the marketing literature by studying customer perceptions of service quality by specifying financing aspects of financial services, i.e. leasing. The authors further contributed to the literature of SERVQUAL model in financial services by dividing customers into two different types of customers and those with diverse leasing contract values. The authors found that priorities given on service quality dimensions by them are different. These concepts were never considered in the literature. This also implies that future studies on financial services marketing need to recognise such differences in the research.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Berhanu Endeshaw

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to review existing healthcare service quality-measurement models.Design/methodology/approachA review of the literature was conducted utilizing keywords “healthcare’’, “service quality’’, “measurement models”, “SERVQUAL”, “SERVPERF”, “HEALTHQUAL”, “PubHosQual” and “HospitalQual”. These investigations were selected from the “Emerald’’, “ABI/Inform”, “ScienceDirect” and “EBSCOhost” databases. A range of studies used in the makeup of the healthcare quality-measurement model for a 36 years period (1979 to 2015) were examined in an exhaustive survey of the literature. Of 137 studies reviewed, 74 studies were selected for analysis.FindingsAs yet, no consensus has been reached among scholars on the definition and indicators and factors of the quality of the healthcare services. Moreover, most of the current models are of Western origin and incongruent with the cultural and economic contexts of developing countries. The previous studies create scales resembling the generic measures of service quality, which may not be completely appropriate for assessing the perceived quality of healthcare services. Furthermore, previous studies were too narrow, overemphasizing the quality of healthcare only as far as the functional aspect of the services were concerned and paying too little attention to the technical aspects, using the experience of healthcare providers. These results have much room for failures. This is therefore advising healthcare organizations that need to develop their own models for measuring the quality of their services.Originality/valueGeneric models no longer suffice in measuring the quality of healthcare services. Developing countries should try and develop their own models for measuring the quality of healthcare services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 613
Author(s):  
Toni Lupo ◽  
Ester Buscarino

Nowadays, in the higher education sector, the quality measurement process of education-related services is assuming a crucial role to support focused and targeted improvement activities deeply centered on students’ needs/necessities. These are considered crucial factors for dealing with the current academic competitive context. Therefore, the quality measurement process has to be precise and accurate, namely the measurement model on which it is based has to be parsimonious and robust. The present work proposes an effective and easy-to-use methodological approach suitable for supporting the structuring of a measurement tool. Its effectiveness is shown with reference to the academic e-service provided at the University of Palermo. In particular, taking into account the students’ viewpoints and perspectives, a measurement model of the academic e-service quality is developed and validated, thus overcoming the lack of literature on the subject. Finally, a survey is conducted, and highlighted academic e-service quality shortcomings and criticalities are stressed and discussed. The outcomes of this study may be of interest to practitioners and researchers in the field, offering important suggestions on how to support the structuring of a measurement model, as well the data-driven service quality improvement process.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1969-1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prachi Jain ◽  
Vijita Singh Aggarwal

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to check the reliability and validity of a well-acknowledged scale developed by Pratibha A. Dabholkar (1996) in the context of Indian organized grocery retail and also to identify new aspects of service quality with respect to grocery retail from literature that have not been taken into account in earlier studies and to finally develop a new scale to measure service quality of organized retail grocery stores with consultation from several experts.Design/methodology/approachIn order to achieve the objectives of the research, both descriptive and exploratory research designs have been employed such that a survey of 800 respondents was undertaken as part of descriptive research whereas exploratory research was conducted to add new dimensions to the existing service quality measurement model so as to develop a new comprehensive scale.FindingsThe results of the study suggest that all the five dimensions of Dabholkar’s model are not suitable to measure service quality in Indian organized grocery retail stores. Therefore, a new instrument with total four dimensions has been developed.Practical implicationsThe study is of great importance for the retailers as it offers a more comprehensive and specific scale to measure service quality of organized grocery retail stores.Originality/valueThis research supports and makes contribution to the previous research on development of service quality measurement scales in Indian context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 1490-1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abteen Ijadi Maghsoodi ◽  
Abbas Saghaei ◽  
Ashkan Hafezalkotob

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to formulate and validate a measurement model to evaluate the service quality of cultural centers. This study aims to expand the domain of service quality measurement models by extending the SERVQUAL model to an alternative measurement tool called the ARTQUAL model based on three different preferences and scenarios including concert halls, theater halls and art galleries. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 15 cultural centers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized in the current research to study the association between aesthetic environments and service quality. An exploratory factor analysis took place to formulate the fundamentals of the measurement model. The validation process is based on a hybrid framework integrating the covariance-based SEM along with the partial least square technique to present a robust validity of the ARTQUAL model. Ultimately, an extensive managerial analysis has been established to show the practicality of the ARTQUAL model. Findings This study provides empirical evidence that the ARTQUAL instrument is proven to be valid, reliable and appropriate to evaluate the service quality of cultural centers. Based on the real-world managerial analysis, the ARTQUAL model showed a significant practicality in quality evaluation of aesthetic environments. Research limitations/implications One of the most important limitations of quantitative studies, based on aesthetic features, is the cultural preferences. This limitation is due to the nature of cultural preferences and partialities applied in different countries based on the definition of quality involving aesthetic aspects such as age, sex and culture. Meanwhile, the findings of this study can guide the service management experts to better understand and improve customers’ perceptions and orientations of service quality in aesthetic environments. Originality/value This paper presents a novel service quality measurement model in order to evaluate the service quality of cultural centers. The originality of the current study is not merely limited to the suggestion of a new quality measurement model, a hybrid statistical validation framework has been provided as well. Therefore, this study provides valuable guidelines to both practitioners and academics to enhance the quality of service measurements in cultural centers.


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