Naslov
THE ROLE OF SERVICE QUALITY IN SELECTING BUSINESS CONSULTING PROVIDERS

Autori
Benazić, Dragan

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u zbornicima skupova, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni

Izvornik
Economic and Social Development 66thh International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development Development Book of Proceedings / Hammes, Khalid ; Volarevic, Hrvoje ; Kaurova, Olga - Varaždin : Varšava : Rabat : VADEA ; Sveučilište Sjever ; Faculty of Management University of Warsaw ; Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences Sale Mohammed V University in Rabat ; Međimursko veleučilište u Čakovcu, 2021, 24-32

Skup
66th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development

Mjesto i datum
Rabat, Maroko, 26.03.2021. - 27.03.2021

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
business consulting services, selection criteria, relationship marketing

Sažetak
Due to the distinctive characteristics of business consulting services such as intangibility, heterogeneity and non-storability, customers perceive a high level of risk regarding service quality and expected benefits. This poses many challenges and implications for the marketing management of business consulting service providers. For these reasons, it is vital for service providers to build and maintain long-term business relationships and to understand the provider selection process. With the aim of identifying the factors affecting the provider selection process and the development of business relationships, this study used a questionnaire to survey a sample of managers of Croatian companies. The research results obtained from factor analysis suggest that the provider selection process can be explained by six factors, that is, expected service quality, proven service quality, standard service quality and experienced service quality, the cost elements, and the provider’s proximity. The research showed that customers give more importance to quality-related selection criteria than to the other criteria. In this respect, in order to build a relationship with their customers, business consulting providers need to focus their marketing activities on conveying messages about the quality of the service and the benefits provided by the service, as well as to prove their capabilities to solve business problems via appropriate reference management and a price linked to the expected benefits, thus focusing on value of the service delivered.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija

POVEZANOST RADA