FINAL RESEARCH PROJECT On
“
MEASUREMENT OF SERVICE QUALITY USING SERVQUAL SCALE: A CASE MEASUREMENT STUDY AT DADA MOTORS, LUDHIANA”
Submitted to Punjab College of Technical Education In fulfillment of the final project submission requirements Of the degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2007-09)
BY Abhishek Pandit [MBA – 2A]
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PUNJAB COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, BADDOWAL Certificate
This is to certify that the report entitled, “Measurement of service quality using SERVQUAL scale: A case study at DADA MOTORS in Ludhiana” submitted in fulfillment for the degree of M.B.A., of Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, is a bonafide research work carried out by Abhishek Pandit under my supervision and that no part of this report has been submitted for any other degree.
Mr. Sandhir Sharma (Deputy Dean & Faculty) (Major Advisor)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I express my sincere thanks and acknowledgements to my Professor Mr. Sandhir Sharma who has been my mentor in this research project. I am thankful to him for taking pains to provide me the necessary guidance and support. While preparing the report I have kept in mind all the major details he has provided me during the course of the project. He helped me overcome my confusions during the project because of which I was able to prepare a concrete and findings orient oriented ed report report.. I am also also thankf thankful ul to DADA DADA MOTORS MOTORS,, Ludhia Ludhiana, na, for providin providing g me the opportunity to do this project. In the end I would like to thank all the staff members at DADA MOTORS and customers for cooperating and providing honest responses that ultimately helped in coming out with true findings in the project.
Abstract Comp Compet etit itiv iven enes esss and and sear search ch for for prof profit itss have have calle called d more more atte attent ntio ion n towa toward rdss cust custom omer er’s ’s
satisfaction and increased researcher’s interest on the topic of service quality. In this context, this study applies SERVQUAL for assessing service quality in an automobile service centre, DADA MOTORS in Ludhiana. The main objective is to assess quality service dimensions that are delivered delivered through the perspective perspectivess of managers and customers. customers. A questionnair questionnairee was developed based on the service quality dimensions from which results was analyzed. The results of this study show the quality dimensions and characteristics that call managerial attention. Responsiveness and assurance were found the most relevant to shop managers and customers, respectively. Quality improvement initiatives were proposed to enhance the service rendered by the car repair shops. The paper concludes that there are differences among the perspectives of shop owners and customers with regard to quality dimensions and suggests further work to continue this research.
INDEX
Contents of the report
1. Intro Introdu duct ction ion of the repor reportt
2. Review Review of litera literature ture & Objecti Objectives ves of the the researc research h study study
3. Rese Resear arch ch meth method odol olog ogy y
4. Findings
5. Impl Impliicat cations ons
6. Bibl Bibliiogr ography
7. Annexure
page no.
INTRODUCTION Research project - Title
The research title is “Measurement of service quality using SERVQUAL scale: A case study at DADA MOTORS in Ludhiana”. The title aims at measuring measuring the quality of services using a 22item rating scale.
Since Since the 90’s 90’s many many servic servicee compani companies es have pursued pursued to enhanc enhancee their their perfor performan mance ce and effectiveness in search of achieving differentiation in the market. An example of that is the attempt to convince customers that their quality is superior to the competitors. In addition, the importance of service sector has sharply increased at both developed and developing countries. India's automotive industry is one of the key drivers of the country's economy. With an estimated size of around USD 38 billion, billion, it accounts for 5 percent of India's GDP. GDP. The industry has been growing at a rate of 11.5 percent CAGR over the past 5 years (2002-03 to 2007-08), with both domestic and export markets growing during the period. The Government's Automotive Mission Plan 2016 envisages the industry to grow to approximately USD 145 billion by 2016, thereby contributing 10 percent to the GDP. The automotive service market is estimated estimated between Rs.40, 000 crores to Rs 50,000 crores, in terms of turnover. As a consequence Service quality quality is one of the major issues facing operations managers but it is an area characterized by debate concerning the need for assessing customer expectations and service quality assessment. In this this sense, sense, the object objective ive in this this study study is to identi identify fy which which qualit quality y dimens dimension ionss are most important to customers of an automobile service centre (DADA MOTORS). In addition, it also assesses the service that is delivered to them. In order to accomplish to these objectives, the study is conducted at DADA MOTORS, Ludhiana.
SERVICES
Services as commodities that cannot be stored or disappear in use, or as activities that require perso personal nal contac contact. t. The disti distinct nct charac character terist istics ics of servic services es are intangi intangibil bilit ity, y, perish perishabi abilit lity, y, heterogeneity of the product, and simultaneity of production and consumption. Two economic units are required for a service to be produced – the consumer and the producer. While the consumer cannot retain the actual service after it is produced, the effect of the service
can be retained. Managing a service operation requires the manager to understand the service concept, service delivery system, and service levels. As the consumer has a key role in the definition and evaluation of all three elements, it is imperative that service managers have a clear understanding of consumer expectations and perceptions. Services may be provided by private or public agencies. These characteristics enhance the importance of certain marketing strategies that are unique to services marketing, such as service customization, managing evidence, making the service tangible, and synchronizing supply and d emand patterns.
SERVICE QUALITY
Qual Qualit ity y is a stra strate tegi gicc tool tool for for atta attain inin ing g oper operat atio iona nall effi effici cienc ency y and impr improv oved ed busin busines esss perfo performa rmance. nce. Import Importance ance of quality quality to servic servicee firms firms and have have demons demonstra trated ted its posit positive ive relationship with profits, increased market share, returns on investment, customer satisfaction, and future purchase intentions. Service quality has been described as a form of attitude, related but but not equival equivalent ent to satisf satisfact action ion,, which which result resultss from from the compar compariso ison n of expect expectati ations ons with with performance (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1988). Service quality involves a comparison of expectations with performance: it is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches custom customer er expecta expectatio tions ns on a consist consistent ent basis. basis. Servic Servicee quality quality has been been concept conceptual ualize ized d as a function of consumer expectations towards the service situation and process, and of the output qualit quality y they they percei perceived ved themse themselve lvess to have receiv received. ed. The ultima ultimate te goal of servic servicee quality quality measur measureme ement nt is to assist assist manage managers rs in ensuri ensuring ng servic servicee quality quality and custom customer er satisf satisfact action ion (Webster, (Webster, 1988). Measurement Measurement is a necessary necessary step towards towards devising devising any action action plan. However, because of its elusiveness and indistinctness, explication and measurement of quality also present probl problems ems for resear researche chers, rs, who often often bypass bypass defini definitio tions ns and use unidim unidimens ension ional al self-r self-repor eportt measures to capture the concept. The emergence of service quality and its assessment has attracted the attention of numerous researcher researcherss in the past two decades or so. In this sense, there are two main lines of thoughts on measuring service quality an American and an European perspective. The focus on functional quality attributes is referred to as the American perspective of service quality while the European perspective suggests that service quality considers two more components. The European perspective perspective considers the quality quality of a service service as perceived by customers customers consists of three dimensions: functional (the process of service delivery to customers), technical (the outcomes generated by the service to the customers), and image (how the customers view the
company). Considering those dimensions, the quality of the service is dependent upon two variables: the expected service and the perceived service. Functional quality of a service is often assessed by measures of customers’ attitudes, as in customer satisfaction questionnaires. The process of identifying customers’ attitudes begins with determining customers’ requirements or quality dimensions. The author explains explains two ways of identifyi identifying ng important important quality dimensions dimensions of services: quality dimension dimension development approach and critical critical incident approach approach.. The first one uses different sources of information, such as opinions of providers and literature. The other one is a process to obtain information from customers. The 10 determinants of service quality established by Parasuraman et al. (1985) provide a list that that can can guid guidee inve invest stig igati ation on on the the firs firstt appr approa oach ch.. The The autho authors rs subs subseq eque uent ntly ly devel develope oped d SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988), a two-part instrument for measuring service quality that was refined later (Parasuraman et al., 1991). SERVQUAL provided a means of measurement for researchers to determine how well service level is delivered and how it matches customer expectations on a consistent basis. Parasuraman et al. (1988) developed a 22-item measurement instrument called SERVQUAL for assess assessing ing custom customers ers'' percep perceptio tions ns of servic servicee qualit quality y in servic servicee and retail retailing ing organi organizat zation ions. s. Respondents are first asked to provide the level of service expected from a service firm on the 22-item expectations scale. Perceived service quality is obtained by subtracting the expectation rating from the perception rating for each of the items. The perceived quality is assessed based on service quality dimensions that correspond to the criteria used by consumers when assessing servic servicee quality quality.. There There are 10 potent potential ially ly overla overlappi pping ng dimens dimension ions: s: tangib tangibles les,, reliab reliabili ility ty,, respo espons nsiv iven enes ess, s,
comm commun uniicat cation, ion,
cred credib ibiility lity,,
assu assurrance ance,,
comp compet eten ence ce,,
cour courttesy esy,
understanding/knowing the customer, and access. Afterwards, these dimensions were reduced to five, namely: namely: tangibles, tangibles, reliabili reliability, ty, responsiven responsiveness, ess, assurance, assurance, empathy. empathy. The SERVQUAL SERVQUAL instrument may be used individually or may be averaged across the 22 pairs of items to obtain an overall service quality score. Using these 5 dimensions as the evaluation criteria the specification of service quality becomes the gap between customers’ expectations and their perceptions (Parasuraman et al). The five key gaps gaps or disc discre repa panc ncie iess on the the serv servic icee provi provide der' r'ss side side that that are are like likely ly to affe affect ct consu consume mers rs'' perceptions of service quality are:-
Gap 1: Consumer expectation-management perception gap, which is the gap between consumer
expectations of service quality and management perceptions of these expectations Gap Gap 2: Manage Managemen mentt percept perception ion-se -servi rvice ce quality quality percep perceptio tion n gap, gap, that that is, the gap betwee between n
management perceptions of consumer expectations and the firm's service quality specifications Gap 3: Service quality specifications-service delivery gap, the gap between service quality
specifications and actual service quality. Gap 4: Service Service delivery-e delivery-externa xternall communicati communications ons gap, or the gap between between actual actual service service
delivery and external communications about the service Gap 5: Expected service-perceived service gap, which is the gap between expected service and
perceived service.
Applicatio Applications ns of the SERVQUAL scale have been made to measure service quality in hospitals, hospitals, hotels, travel and tourism, telecom companies, insurance companies and banks, business school placement centre, retail stores and acute care hospital physicians, dentists, attorney, financial and banking institutions, laundry/dry cleaning and automobile companies.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Review of literature is the most useful and simple method of formulating the research problem. The researches done by previous researchers are reviewed and their usefulness is evaluated to serve as basis for further research. Thus researcher reviews and builds upon the work of others.
The reviews that are collected by the researcher should give an insight into the field under study. The reviews must explain the need and scope of the study under consideration. Sasser et al. (1978) has defined services as commodities that cannot be stored or disappear in
use, or as activities that require personal contact. The distinct characteristics of services are intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity of the product, and simultaneity of production and consumption consumption Two economic units are required required for a service to be produced – the consumer and the producer. While the consumer cannot retain the actual service after it is produced, the effect of the service can be retained. Managing a service operation requires the manager to understand the service concept, service delivery system, and service levels. As the consumer has a key role in the definition and evaluation of all three elements, it is imperative that service managers have a clear understanding of consumer expectations and perceptions. Services may be provided by private or public agencies. These characteristics enhance the importance of certain marketing strate strategie giess that that are unique unique to servic services es market marketing ing,, such such as servic servicee custom customiza izatio tion, n, managi managing ng evidence, making the service tangible, and synchronizing supply and demand patterns. Service quality is more difficult for the consumer to evaluate than goods quality. Perceptions of serv servic icee quali quality ty resu result lt from from a compar comparis ison on of cons consum umer er expe expect ctat atio ions ns with with actu actual al serv servic icee performance. Quality evaluations are not made solely on the outcome of a service; they also involve an evaluation of the process of service delivery.
Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) emphatically pointed out that the concept of quality
prevalent in the goods sector is not extendable to the services sector. Being inherently and essentially intangible, heterogeneous, perishable, and entailing simultaneity and inseparability of production and consumption, services require a distinct framework for quality explication and measurement.
As against the goods sector where tangible cues exist to enable consumers to evaluate product quality, quality in the service context is explicated in terms of parameters that largely come under the domain of ‘experience’ and ‘credence’ properties and are as such difficult to measure and evaluate (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1985; Zeithaml and Bitner, 2001). One major contribution of Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988) was to provide a terse definition of service quality. They defined service quality as ‘a global judgment, or attitude, relating to the superiority of the service’, and explicated it as involving evaluations of the
outcome (i.e., what the customer actually receives from service) and process of service act (i.e., the manner in which service is delivered). In line with the propositions put forward by Gronroos (1982) and Smith and Houston (1982), Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985, 1988) posited and operationalized service quality as a difference between consumer expectations of ‘what they want want’’ and and thei theirr perc percep epti tion onss of ‘wha ‘whatt they they get. get.’’ Base Based d on this this conc concep eptu tual aliz izat atio ion n and and operationalization, they proposed a service quality measurement scale called ‘SERVQUAL.’ The SERVQUAL scale constitutes an important landmark in the service quality literature and has been extensively applied in different service settings.
Boulding et al. (1993) perceived the dimensions of service quality as a function of a customer's
prior expectations of what will and what should transpire during a service encounter, as well as the customer's most recent contact with the service delivery system. These perceptions of quality dimensions form the basis for a person's intended behavior. Their findings suggest that the two different types of expectations have opposing effects on perceptions of service quality and that service quality perceptions positively affect intended behaviors.
Zeith Ze ithaml aml et al. al. (1993 (1993)) explor explored ed the gap betwee between n expect expectati ations ons and percep perceptio tions ns to better better
understand expectations as they pertain to customer assessment of service quality and to extend the theoretical theoretical work that exists in the customer satisfacti satisfaction on literatur literature. e. Based on their study, the gap between customer expectations and perceptions as proposed by Parasuraman et al. (1985) can be conceptualized to reflect two comparison standards: desired service which reflects what customers want, and adequate service which indicates the standard that customers are willing to accept. The comparison between desired service and perceived service or the level of service customers belie believe ve is likely likely to occur, occur, called called percei perceived ved servic servicee qualit quality y (PSQ) (PSQ) is the percei perceived ved servic servicee superiority gap. The comparison between adequate service and perceived service, called PSQ Gap 5 is the perceived service quality adequacy gap. The smaller the gap between desired service and perceived service, the higher the perceived superiority of the firm. The smaller the gap between adequate service and perceived service, the higher the perceived adequacy of the service.
Lowndes and Dawes (2001) have found that Service quality is commonly thought to comprise
of five generic dimensions - responsiveness, assurance, tangibles, empathy and reliability. These dimensions form the basis for service measurement tool SERVQUAL. This tool predominantly focused on customer perceptions and expectations of quality and helps the organizations to improve upon their service quality resulting in greater customer retention.
Jain Jain and and Gup Gupta ta (2004 (2004)) have done done a compar comparati ative ve analysi analysiss of two major major servic servicee quality quality
measurement scales: SERVQUAL and SERVPERF. An ideal service quality scale is one that is not only psychometrically sound but is also diagnostically robust enough to provide insights to the managers for corrective actions in the event of quality shortfalls. This study assesses the diagnostic power of the two service quality scales. Using data collected through a survey of consumers of fast food restaurants in Delhi, the study finds the SERVPERF scale to be providing a more convergent and discriminant valid explanation of service quality construct. However, the scale is found deficient deficient in its diagnostic diagnostic power. It is the SERVQUAL scale which outperforms outperforms the SERVPERF scale by virtue of possessing higher diagnostic power to pinpoint areas for managerial managerial interventions interventions in the event of service service quality shortfalls. shortfalls. SERVPERF scale should be used for assessing overall service quality of a firm because of its psychometric soundness and greater instrument parsimoniousness. One should employ the The SERVPERF scale should also be the prefer preferred red resear research ch instru instrumen mentt when when one is intere intereste sted d in underta undertakin king g servic servicee quality quality comparisons across service industries.
Arasli et al (2005) has analyzed and compared service quality in the commercial banking sector
of a small small island island economy economy – Cyprus Cyprus.. The author author with with others others invest investiga igated ted the relati relations onship hip between overall bank customer satisfaction in the Turkish- and Greek-speaking areas of Cyprus and positive word-of-mouth about their banks. There is disparity in the banking sector of a divided Cyprus, where banks in the South have undergone significant restructuring before EU accession and banks in the North are affected by the economic crisis and need to restructure if they want to join the EU. After descriptive and factor analysis, multivariate regression was used to estimate the impact of service quality dimensions on overall customer satisfaction and word of mouth.
It was found that the responsiveness dimension failed to load and thus the SERVQUAL scale proved to be of a four-dimensional structure in this study. Research results revealed that the expectations of bank customers in both areas were not met and that the largest gap was found in the empath empathy y dimens dimension ion.. The assura assurance nce dimens dimension ion had the larges largestt influe influence nce on custom customer er satisfaction and overall satisfaction of bank customers in both areas of Cyprus had a positive effect on their word-of-mouth. The study helped the banks in both areas of Cyprus to redefine their corporate image to one that is customer-focused and driven by service quality.
Prajapati and Kachwala (2006) in their study have found out that the delivery of information
i.e. knowledge transmission in the case of Management Education Institutes (MEI) is intangible in nature. Therefore, the inputs in terms of delivery of this knowledge - faculty, equipment and the entire environment and infrastructure are very important for quality. A gap was found between the quality rendered by faculty and service provider, and quality required by students. It is essential to understand the exact quality required by the students to develo develop p a course course and curric curriculu ulum m that that suit suit their their requir requireme ements nts.. Servic Servicee quality quality needs to be quantified and thus it can be described in terms of objective and perceptual characteristics: Objective characteristics include things like, lecture time, wait time, etc., and can be easily quantified. Perceptual characteristics on the other hand, depend on the students' perceptions, which include dimensions of service quality based on the SERVQUAL and other service quality instruments. The study encompassed Business Schools in Mumbai as perceived by students are evaluated. The questionnaire is on the basis of a hypothesized model for service quality. Factor analysis of the responses helped to develop a working model for the perceived service quality factors in Manage Managemen mentt Educat Education ion Instit Institute utes. s. This This helped helped in identi identify fying ing the improv improveme ements nts in Servic Servicee Quality in Management Education Institutes.
Cauchick Miguel et al (2007) have highlighted the fact that competitiveness and search for
pro profi fits ts have have call called ed for for more more atte attent ntio ion n towar towards ds cust custom omer er’s ’s sati satisf sfac acti tion on and and incr increa ease sed d organizations interest in service service quality. SERVQU SERVQUAL AL techni technique que is applied applied on a multi multinati national onal company company servic servicee chain chain includ including ing one hundred shops located throughout the country, to assess quality service dimensions that are delivered through the perspectives of managers and customers. It was found that the certain
qualit quality y dimens dimension ionss and charac character terist istics ics call call for manage manageria riall attent attention ion.. Respons Responsive ivenes nesss and assurance were found to be the most relevant to shop managers and customers, respectively. Quality improvement initiatives were proposed to enhance the service rendered by the car repair shops. The paper concludes that there are differences among the perspectives of shop owners and customers with regard to quality dimensions.
Hii Geng Hing (2007) has has exam examin ined ed Serv Servic icee Qual Qualit ity y (SER (SERVQ VQUA UAL) L) varia variabl bles es from from the the
perspective of hotel guests in Sibu. Since Sibu is an emerging market for tourism industry so the information obtained from hotel guests can be utilized to attract more guests. Stanley has used Gap 5 (Gap between expected service and perceived perceived service) service) and factor factor analysis analysis to to analyze analyze the data obtained in order to determine satisfaction and perception of the guests. Data obtained from 189 respondents revealed a negative Gap 5 perception and a rich expectation and perception factors. Recommendations for managers and future studies are presented.
Saravan and Rao (2007 ) have highlighted that in service firms the practitioners are interested to
know the customer perceptions of service quality for identifying shortfalls and improving service delivery. This study has analyzed the discrimination among the three groups (customer oriented, employ employee ee orient oriented ed and techno technolog logy y orient oriented) ed) of overall overall servic servicee quality quality from from the custom customers ers’’ perspective. The results indicate that both the technological factors and the people-oriented factors appear to contribute more in discriminating the three groups of overall service quality. Further, the service qualit quality y indice indicess in the Indian Indian automo automobil bilee servic servicee sector sector as a whole whole indica indicate te a satisf satisfact actory ory performance.
Swaid and Wigand (2007) in their study have found that to satisfy and retain customers the
organization has to offer a superior service quality. The study indicates that the key dimensions of ecom ecomme merc rcee serv servic icee quali quality ty are are websi website te usab usabil ilit ity, y, info inform rmat atio ion n quali quality ty,, reli reliabi abili lity ty,, responsiveness, assurance and personalization. Secondly customer satisfaction is influenced mostly with the perception of reliability, while customer customer loyalty is affected affected by the perception perception of assurance assurance and customer customer retention retention is predicted by the customer satisfaction index.
Rajagopal (2008) has analyzed the impact impact of market orientation orientation strategie strategiess and performance performance of
customer services on customer acquisition, retention and sales of automobiles which reveals overall performance of automobile dealers in Mexico. The study comprehends understanding on customer-dealer relationship in the automobile market segment referring to key factors which establ establish ishes es servic servicee quality quality encomp encompass assing ing tangib tangibil ility ity,, respons responsive ivenes ness, s, trust, trust, accurac accuracy y and empathy. It was found that the customers perceive better quality of relationship in a given frame of functions that are performed effectively by the dealer lowering the extent of conflicts thereof. High conformance quality services of dealers and value added customer relationship to offer high customer satisfaction develop life time customer value and strengthen the customer-dealer relationship.
Chapter 3- Research Methodology
Research design
A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. It is the conceptual structure structure within which research research is conducted. conducted. It constitutes constitutes the blueprint blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. My research design is descriptive in nature as it involves studying the perceptions and expectations of customers in order to measure the service qual qualit ity y prov provid ided ed by the the serv servic icee provi provide der. r. The The stud study y thus thus find findss out out the the majo majorr area areass of improvement so that company services to the cu stomers can be improved.
Scope of the study
The study is limited to the city of Ludhiana.
Method of Data Collection
The primary data was collected with the help he lp of a structured, non disguised questionnaire. Secondary data was collected from journals, magazines, newspapers, books & internet with a view to supplement the primary data. The study of secondary sources made the structuring of questionnaire easy. The collected data was analyzed by using SERVQUAL scale.
Sampling Plan 1. Universe of the study : This involves all the people using the product or the service. For this
pro proje ject ct all all the the peop people le who who are are avai availi ling ng auto automo mobi bile le serv servic ices es from from auth author oriz ized ed TATA TATA MOTORS/FIAT service stations in the world, forms the universe. 2. Population of the study : This involves all those people using the product/service residing in a
particular area. So here the population will be all those people who are availing the service from authorized TATA MOTORS/FIAT service stations in Ludhiana. 3. Sampling frame : The sampling frame is the list of respondents from where the researcher
draws the sample. In this research study, sampling frame is the database provided by the DADA MOTORS. 4. Sampling technique : The sampling technique applied is judgmental sampling technique.
Sample Sizes
The sample size undertaken in this research study is 50.
Sampling Unit
Every single individual undertaken in the research study is called the sampling unit. In this research study sampling unit is every single individual who gets his vehicle serviced at DADA MOTORS.
PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
The purpose of this project is to utilize the SERVQUAL scale to assess customers' perceptions of the service quality offered by DADA MOTORS .The various dimensions of service quality of the automo automobil bilee servic services, es, the overal overalll level level of servic servicee of DADA DADA MOTORS MOTORS and the relati relative ve importance of each of the dimensions d imensions in influencing consumers' perception of service quality will be examined. Service quality is more difficult for the consumer to evaluate than goods quality. Perceptions of service quality result from a comparison of consumer expectations with actual service performance. Quality evaluations are not made solely on the outcome of a service; they also involve an evaluation evaluation of the process of service service delivery. delivery. In judging quality of service provi provided, ded, consume consumers rs percei perceive ve the actual actual servic servicee perfor performan mance ce in the contex contextt of what what they they expect expected. ed. Thus the percei perceived ved servic servicee quality quality is the result result of the consum consumer' er'ss compar compariso ison n of expected service with perceived service. It is to be noted that the dimensions of service quality as a function of a customer's prior expectations of what will and what should transpire during a service encounter, as well as the customer's most recent contact with the service delivery system. These perceptions of quality Dimensions form the basis for a person's intended behavior. Their findings suggest that the two different types of expectations have opposing effects on perceptions of service quality and that
service quality perceptions positively affect intended behaviors. The gap between between expect expectati ations ons and percep perceptio tions ns should should be studie studied d to better better underst understand and expect expectati ations ons as they they pertai pertain n to custom customer er assess assessmen mentt of servic servicee qualit quality y and to extend extend the theoretical work that exists in the customer satisfaction literature. the gap between custom customer er expect expectati ations ons and percept perception ionss as propos proposed ed by Parasu Parasuram raman an et al. (1985) (1985) can be concept conceptual ualize ized d to reflec reflectt two compar compariso ison n standar standards: ds: desire desired d servic servicee which which reflec reflects ts what what customers want, and adequate service which indicates the standard that customers are willing to accept. The comparison between desired service and perceived service or the level of service customers believe is likely to occur, called p erceived service quality (PSQ) is the perceived service superiority gap. The comparison between adequate service and perceived service, called PSQ , is the perceived service quality adequacy gap. The smaller the gap between desired service and perceived service, the higher the perceived superiority of the firm. The smalle smallerr the gap between between adequat adequatee servic servicee and percei perceived ved servic service, e, the higher higher the percei perceived ved adequacy of the service.
METHODOLOGY
This study used the SERVQUAL scale designed by Parasuraman et al. (1988) to measure the perceived service quality of DADA MOTORS automobile service users. This approach has practical practical appeal, operational operational simplicity simplicity and potential potential for immediate and long-term long-term strategic strategic impact impact..
This This study study follows follows closely closely the steps taken taken to measure measure the unweig unweighte hted d averag averagee
SERVQU SERVQUAL AL scores scores and the weight weighted ed averag averagee SERVQU SERVQUAL AL .In comput computing ing the unweig unweighte hted d average SERVQUAL scores and the weighted average SERVQUAL scores, the 22 items of SERVQUAL (as listed in the Appendix) in both the expectations and perception statements have been grouped according to the five basic dimensions of tangibles (items 1 to 4), reliability (items 5 to 9), responsiveness (items 10 to 13), assurance (items 14 to 17) and empathy (items 18 to 22). To meas measur uree the the unwe unweig ight hted ed aver averag agee SERV SERVQU QUAL AL scor scores es and and the the weig weight hted ed aver average age SERV SERVQU QUAL AL scor scores es,, seve severa rall steps steps were were take taken. n. The The firs firstt step step was was the the calc calcul ulat atio ion n of the the SERVQUAL score for each of the 22 pairs of expectation/perception items. The SERVQUAL score was defined and computed as follows:
SERVQUAL score = Perception - Expectation score
The The next next step step was was to comput computee the the SERV SERVQU QUAL AL scor scoree for for each each dime dimens nsio ion n by addi adding ng the the SERVQUAL score for each item pair obtained in the first step, across all the items which pertain to that dimension and dividing by the number of items. In step 3, for each dimension, the SERVQUAL scores were then added for all the respondents and divided by the total number of the responden respondents. ts. In step step 4, the overall overall SERVQU SERVQUAL AL score score was then obtain obtained, ed, the five SERVQUAL scores obtained for each of the five dimensions were added up and divided by 5. This gave the overall SERVQUAL score which was an unweighted average of the five scores computed in step 3. The points allocated to the five dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiven responsiveness, ess, assurance and empathy) empathy) were used to compute compute a weighted weighted SERVQUAL SERVQUAL score. The SERVQUAL scores obtained in step 2 were multiplied by the corresponding weights of the dimension. The weight was the number of points allocated to each dimension divided by 100.
In step 6, respondents' weighted scores were added across the five dimensions and then divided by the total number of respondents to give the overall weighted SERVQUAL score.
The questionnaire utilized to gather the data comprised three main sections. Section 1 co nsists of 22 items to measure customers' expectations of automobile services in general while Section 2 consists of a corresponding 22-item scale to measure the customers' perceptions of the services actually actually offered by DADA MOTORS. MOTORS. The scores for each item ranged from "1" for strongly strongly disagree" disagree" to "7" for "strongly "strongly agree" on a seven-point seven-point Likert scale. According to recommended recommended procedures for scale development (Churchill 1979), approximately h alf of the 22 items were worded negatively. In Section 3, respondents were required to indicate the importance of each of the five dimensions dimensions of service service quality, quality, that is tangibles, tangibles, reliability reliability,, responsivene responsiveness, ss, assurance and empathy, by allocating a total of 100 points to these dimensions as well as to rank their importance.
Dimensions of Service Quality
The perception perception minus expectation expectation gap scores scores for the 22-item 22-item SERVQUAL SERVQUAL was factor factor analyzed analyzed to identi identify fy the dimens dimension ionss or factor factorss of DADA DADA MOTORS MOTORS users' users' percep perceptio tions ns of its service service quality.
SERV1 to SERV22 are the perception minus expectation scores of item 1 to item 22 of the SERVQUAL instrument. Factor 1, which is the tangibles dimension, had four items (SERV1 to SERV4). SERV1 to SERV4 SERV4 concern concern statem statement entss on physic physical al facil faciliti ities, es, up-toup-to-dat datee equipm equipment ent and well-d well-dres ressed sed employees. Factor 2, the reliability dimension, has all the items identified in the study by Parasuraman et al. (1988) Factor 3, the responsiveness dimension, had four items (SERV10 to SERV13) as extracted in the study by Parasuraman et al. Fact Factor or 4, the the assu assura ranc ncee dime dimens nsio ion n had had four four item itemss (SER (SERV1 V14 4 to SERV SERV17) 17) as stud studie ied d by Parasuraman et al. (1988),
The last factor, Factor 5, has 5 dimensions (SERV18 to SERV22) as extracted in Parasuraman et al.'s (1988) study.
Service Quality Scores
In following the study by Parasuraman (1991), the 22 items of SERVQUAL in both the expectation and perception scores have been grouped according to the five basic dimensions as follows: Dimensions Statements
Dimensions
Statements
Tangibles
Items 1 to 4
Reliability
Items 5 to 9
Responsiveness
Items 10 to 13
Assurance
Items 14 to 17
Empathy
Items 18 to 22
The SERVQUAL scores have been calculated with and without the weighting factors for the five dimensions grouped according to the statements above.
OTHER ANALYSIS TOOLS USED:-
The analysis of the data forms crucial part of the research. 1. Likert scale : - this is a type of graphic rating scale where some points are usually put along the line to form a continuum and the ratings are indicated by marking a circle or a tick at the appropriate point on a line which runs from one extreme to the other. Scale points with brief descriptions are indicated along the line so as to assist the researcher in doing the research. Likert Likert scale/ scale/ summat summated ed scale scale consis consists ts of statem statement entss that that expres expresss either either a favora favorable ble or an unfavorable attitude towards the given object to which the respondent is asked to react. The respondent indicates his agreement or disagreement with each statement in the instrument. Each response is given a numerical score indicating favorableness or unfavorableness, and the scores are totaled to measure the respondent’s attitude. So the scale is able to tell the respondent’s position in terms of favorableness & unfavorableness towards an issue. The likert scale used in the study consists of 7 degrees. At one end of the scale there is strongly disagree disagree rating and at the other is strongly agree and in between between lie intermediat intermediatee points. points. This is illustrated as under:1
2
3
4
5
6
7
__________________________________________________________ Strongly disagree
strongly agree
Each point on the scale carries a score. Response indicating the least satisfying degree is given the least score and the most satisfying is given the highest score. The statement is then calculated on the basis of the responses received to reach the objective.
2. Mean scores : - mean score can be represented by the following formula
Mean Score = ∑ Sn * FN / N. Where, Sn =score awarded to a particular point of the scale (1 to 5) 5) FN= frequency of that point, i.e. number of respondents in favor of that point N= number of respondents, i.e. (20 or 15) .The satisfaction is measured amongst the various parameters of the total experience. The parameter scoring the mean is the most satisfying to the customer, and the parameter with the lowest mean score is the least satisfying.
FINDINGS
Table 1. shows the results of the unweighted SERVQUAL scores. The unweighted average of the SERVQUAL scores is a positive integer implying that the respondents' expectations of automobile services have been fully met by DADA MOTORS. Examining each of the five dimensions, the SERVQUAL scores are all positive suggesting that there is n o gap between the respondents' expectations of what the automobile services should be and their perceptions of the service quality actually offered by DADA MOTORS. The service quality of the reliability dimension was the highest with an average unweighted score of 0.548 while the lowest was for empathy with score of 0.36. SERVQUAL DIMENSION Average tangible score Average reliability score Aver Averag agee resp respon onsi sive vene ness ss sco score re Average assurance score Average empathy score TOTAL Average unweighted SERVQUAL score
0.455 0.548 0.54 0.54 0 .8 0.36 2.703 0.5406
The results point towards the need for DADA MOTORS to formulate management policies such as training of staff to give individual customer attention and to understand the specific needs of the customers.
When respondents were asked to allocate 100 points across the five SERVQUAL dimensions reliab reliabili ility ty emerge emerged d as the most most import important ant SERVQU SERVQUAL AL dimens dimension ion follow followed ed by reliab reliabili ility ty,, responsiveness, tangibility assurance and empathy, as shown in the following table Dimension Tangibility Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy
No. of points allocated out of 100 points 20 30 21 15 14
This suggests that DADA MOTORS automobile service users place more emphasis on the reliability, responsiveness and physical facilities, appearance of DADA MOTORS rather than assurance assurance and empathy. empathy. This is probably probably because most DADA MOTORS MOTORS automobile automobile service users want prompt service (due to shortage of time) as a measure of reliability. The weighted service quality scores are shown in table 3 below
TABLE 2: weighted SERVQUAL scores SERVQUAL dimension
Score from table 1
Importance
(A)
weight(
Weighted scores score A*B
from table 2) Average tangible score Average reliability score Average responsiveness score Average assurance score Average empathy score
0.455 0.548 0.5 4 0 .8 0.3 6
(B) 19.8 31.64 21.72 14.92 14.22
9.009 17.338 11.728 11.936 5.119
TOTAL 55.13 Average weighted 11.026 SERVQUAL score The weighted average value which took into account the weights attached to the five dimensions indicates that in there is no shortfall in services provided.
The levels levels of expecta expectatio tion n and percep perceptio tion n among among the respon respondent dentss with with respect respect to the five five dimensions were also examined and are shown in the following table:-
SERVQUAL
Perception sc score
Expectation sc score
dimensions Tangibility Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy
22.14 26.7 20.26 22.64 25.42
20.32 23.96 18.1 19.44 23.62
The level of expectation was highest for reliability and lowest for responsiveness, while for perception of service quality of DADA MOTORS, the highest score was again for reliability and the lowest for responsiveness.
The dimension scores are as follows:SERVQUAL dimensions Tangibility Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy
Average dimension score 22.75 27.4 27 40 18
The scores scores show show that that respond respondent entss give give assura assurance nce the utmost utmost import importance ance while while going going for automobile service followed by reliability, responsiveness, tangibility and empathy.
IMPLICATIONS
The findings of this study have important practical implications to management of quality of the DADA DADA MOTO MOTORS RS auto automo mobi bile le serv servic ices es.. This This stud study y demo demons nstr trat ates es the the usef useful ulnes nesss of the the SERVQUAL approach as a measure of service quality. The results of the study indicate that the SERVQUAL scale could make a valuable contribution by enhancing the understanding of the perceived service quality of automobile services. The measurement scale also serves to identify symptoms and the underlying problems that inhibit the effective provision of quality services in automobile sector.
Once the attributes of automobile services from the customers' perspective are more clearly known and understood, its service providers will be in a better position to anticipate consumer requir requireme ements nts rather rather than than to react react to consum consumer er dissat dissatisf isfact action ion.. The attri attribut butes es of reliab reliabili ility, ty, responsiveness and assurance have been identified by respondents to be the most important dimensions of service quality. These dimensions have been assigned the highest weights by the respondents thus bringing out the fact that DADA MOTORS should focus more on these aspects. Empathy and tangibility are found to have the lowest weighted SERVQUAL scores. This brings out that that DADA DADA MOTORS MOTORS manage management ment should should improv improvee upon the tangib tangibili ility ty aspect aspectss like like improving physical facilities. It should provide individual customer attention and understand the specific needs of the individuals.
In view of the intense intense competition competition in the automobile automobile sector with the coming of new competitor competitor like GARRISON MOTORS it is imperative that the management of DADA MOTORS carry out more research to discover any shortfalls in service qua lity and to take necessary corrective measures in case of a shortfall. This could ensure that the service quality of DADA MOTORS provides the best to its consumers in order to compete effectively. As the consumer plays a key role in the definition definition and evaluation of the quality of automobile automobile services services offered, offered, managers of DADA MOTORS should incorporate consumer expectations and perceptions in the formulation of effective long-term marketing strategies.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arasli, Huseyin; Katircioglu , Salih Turan; Smadi ,Salime Mehtap ,A Comparison of Service Quality in the Banking Industry :Some Evidence from Turkish- and Greek-speaking Areas in Cyprus. International .Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 3, No. 7, pp. 508-526, 2005. Cauchick Miguel, Paulo A; Terra da Silva, Márcia ; Chiosini, Elias L. and Schützer Klaus , Assessment of service quality dimensions: a study in a vehicle repair service ch ain Hii Geng Hing, Stanley , Hotel Guest Satisfaction: A Gap 5 Study in Sibu. The Icfai Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 18-38, September 2007. Jain ,Sanjay K and Gupta, Garima, Measuring Service Quality: SERVQUAL vs. SERVPERF Scales, Vikalpa ,Volume 29 , No 2 , April - june 2004 Lowndes, Michelle; Dawes John , Distinct Distinct SERVQUAL dimensions: dimensions: A measure measure of service service quality. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, Vol. 16, 2, 2001 pp. 41-53 Prajapati, B.A.; Kachwala Tohid , Service Quality Measurement in Management Education Institutes .The Icfai Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 35-52, November 2006 Rajagopal , Effe Effect ctss of cust custom omer er serv servic icee effi effici cienc ency y and and mark market et effe effect ctiv ivene eness ss on deale dealer r performance http://www.geocities.com/prof_rajagopal/homepage.html Saravan, R and Rao, K.S.P, Service Quality From the Customer’s Perspective: An Empirical Investigation, Investigation, Quality Management Journal ,VOL. 14, NO. 3, 2007. Swaid, I.Samar; Wigand, Rolf T., Key dimensions of E-commerce service quality and its relationshi relationships ps to satisfact satisfaction ion and loyalty loyalty .20th Bled e-Conference e-Conference e-Mergence: e-Mergence: Merging Merging and Emerging Technologies, Processes, and Institutions June 4 - 6, 2007; Bled, Slovenia.
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do? contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1556618
ANNEXURE
QUALITY OF SERVICE - Questionnaire Based on your experiences as a customer in an automobile service centre, please think about about the kind kind of automo automobil bilee servic servicee centre centre that that would would delive deliverr excell excellent ent qualit quality y of service. service. Think about the kind of automobile automobile service service centre in which you would like like to receive treatment. Please show the extent to which you think such an automobile service centre would possess the feature feature described by each statement. If you feel a feature feature is not
at all essential for essential for excellent automobile service centre such as the one you have in mind, essential for excellent automobile circle the number 1. If you feel a feature is absolutely essential for service centre, circle 7. If your feelings are less strong, circle circle one of the numbers in the middle. There are no right or wrong wrong answers – you are just just required to to circle the number that truly reflects your feelings regarding automobile service centre that would deliver excellent quality of service.
Strongly Disagree 1.
Strongly Agree
Excellent automobile service centre will have modern looking equipment. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2. The physical physical facilities at excellent automobile automobile service centre will be visually appealing 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
3. Personnel at excellent automobile service centre will be neat in appearance 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
4. Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) will be visually appealing in an excellent automobile service centre
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
5. Excellent automobile service centre delivers the vehicle on time as promised at the time of reception of vehicle.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
6. When a customer has a problem, excellent automobile service centre will show a sincere interest in solving it. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7. Excellent automobile service centre will get things right the first time. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8. Excellent automobile service centre will provide their services at the time they promise to do so.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9. Excellent automobile service centre will insist on error-free records.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Disagree 10. Personnel in excellent automobile service centre will tell customers exactly when services will be performed. (Delivery time how well explained & received by customer) 1
Strongly Agree
2
3
4
5
6
7
11. Personnel in excellent automobile service centre will give prompt service to customers. (Delivery on time/before time) 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
12. Personnel in excellent automobile service centre will always be willing to help customers. (Explaining the facilities available) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
13. Personnel in excellent automobile service centre will never be too busy to respond to customers' requests. 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
14. The behaviour of personnel in excellent automobile service centre will instil confidence in customers. (Seeking commitment for next service) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
15. Customers of excellent automobile service centre will feel safe in their dealings with the automobile service centre. (Explaining the Quality as differentiation) 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
16. Personnel in excellent automobile service centre will be consistently courteous with customers. (Meet and greet) 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
17. Personnel in excellent automobile service centre will have the knowledge to answer customers' questions. (How well explained what all jobs were done, clarity in communication) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
18. Excellent automobile service centre will give customers individual attention. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
19. Excellent automobile service centre will have operating hours convenient to all their customers. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20. Excellent automobile service centre will have staff who give customers personal attention. (Interaction with customer on any approval or information) 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
21. Excellent automobile service centre will have the customers' best interests at heart. 1
3
4
5
6
7
3
4
5
6
7
2
22. The personnel of excellent automobile service centre will understand the specific needs of their customers. (Exploring option for cross selling) 1 2
Listed below are five features pertaining to automobile service centre and the service they offer. We would like to know how important each of these features is to you when you evaluate the service offered by an automobile service centre. Please allocate a total of 100 points among the five features according to how important each feature is to you - the more important a feature is to you, the more points you should allocate to it. it. Please ensure that the points you allocate to the five features add up to 100.
1.
The appearance of the automobile service centre’s physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials.
_____ po points
2.
The automobile service centre's ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. _____ points
3.
The automobile service centre's willingness to help customers and provide a prompt service. _____ points
4.
The knowledge and courtesy of the automobile service centre personnel and their ability to convey trust and confidence. _____ points
5.
The caring, individualised attention the automobile service centre provides its customers.
_____ points
TOTAL points allocated 100 points ____________________________________________________________________________
Which one feature of the above five is most important to you ? (Please enter the feature's number)
_____
Which feature is second most important to you ?
_____
Which feature is least important to you ?
_____
The following following set of statements statements relate relate to your feelings feelings about the DADA MOTORS MOTORS automobile service service centre you have attended. attended. For each statement, statement, please please show the extent to which you belie believe ve the DADA DADA MOTORS MOTORS automobil automobilee servic servicee centre centre has the featur featuree descri described bed by the statement. Once again, circling a 1. means that you strongly disagree that the the automobile service centre centre you have attended has this feature feature and circling a 7. means that you strongly strongly agree. You may circle any of the numbers in the middle that show how strong strong your feelings are. There are no right or wrong answers – you are just required to circle the number that best shows your perceptions about the DADA MOTORS automobile service cen tre.
Strongly Disagree 1. DADA MOTORS has modernlooking equipment.
Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2. The physical physical facilities in DADA MOTORS are visually appealing. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
3. Personnel in the DADA MOTORS are neat in appearance.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
4. Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) are visually appealing.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
5. When DADA MOTORS promises to do something by a certain time it does so.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
6. When you have a problem, DADA MOTORS shows a sincere interest in solving it.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7. DADA MOTORS gets things right the first time.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8. DADA MOTORS provides its services at the time it promises to do so.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9. DADA MOTORS insists on error-free records.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
10. The personnel in DADA MOTORS tell you exactly when services will be performed. (Delivery time how well explained & received by customer)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
11. Personnel in in DADA MOTORS give you prompt service. (Delivery on time /before time)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
12. Personnel in in DADA MOTORS are always willing to help you. (Explaining the facilities available)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
13. Personnel in in DADA MOTORS are never too busy to respond to your requests.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
14. The behaviour of personnel in DADA MOTORS instils confidence in you. (Seeking commitment for next service) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
15. You feel safe in your dealings with DADA MOTORS. (explaining the quality as differentiation.)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
16. Personnel in in DADA MOTORS are consistently courteous with you. (Meet and greet)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
17. Personnel in in DADA MOTORS have the knowledge to answer your questions. (How well explained what all jobs were done ,clarity in communication) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
18. DADA MOTORS MOTORS gives you you individual attention.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
19. DADA MOTORS MOTORS has operating operating hours convenient to all its customers.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20. DADA MOTORS MOTORS has personnel who give you personal attention.
(Interaction with customer on any approval or information) 21. DADA MOTORS has your best interests at heart.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
22. The personnel of DADA MOTORS understand your specific needs (Exploring option for cross selling)
Thank you for the time you have spent in completing completing this questionnaire. The results will help us to provide you with the best possible service in the future.
Appendix: SERVQUAL procedures
Dimensions Statements Statements Statements Statements Statements
1-4 5-9 10 10-13 14 14-17 18-22
Tangibles Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy
Procedures 1.
Comp Comput utee the the ‘ga ‘gap’ p’ for for eac each h stat statem emen entt pair pair for for eac each h cons consum umer er.. SERVQUAL score = Perceptions Score - Expectations Score
2. Comp Comput utee the the dime dimens nsio ions ns scor scores es for for each each resp respon onde dent nt by aver averagi aging ng the the gap gap over the relevant number of statements (either 4 or 5 statements)
3.
scor scoree
Deri Derive ve SER SERVQ VQUA UAL L res respo pond nden ent’ t’ss sco score ress in in the the fol follo lowi wing ng way way:: Unweighted scores Sum dimensions and divide by 5 Weighted scores Tangibles * (Tangibles Weight/100) Reliability * (Reliability Weight/100) Responsiveness * (Responsiveness Weight/100) Assurance * (Assurance Weight/100) Empathy * (Empathy Weight/100)
4.
Derive total SERVQUAL scores by totalling the scores and dividing by N of Respondents
+ + + +
