Naslov
SERVQUAL - A Tool for Measuring Service Quality

Autori
Verner, Jelena

Izvornik
Pravni vjesnik (0352-5317) 21 (2005), 1-2; 247-258

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
service quality; measurement; multivariate statistical analysis

Sažetak
The constantly changing environment forces enterprises to identify new opportunities for claiming competitive advantages and to adapt these changes into their overall strategy. Therefore a respected number of service organisations have identified the need for understanding and implementing tools and methods for economic development. The service sector has gained in economic importance over the past decade. Statistics show that the sector accounts for 60% of the value added in the European Community. Despite such significance and the importance of quality-related matters to the sector, there is little research dealing with service quality. As competition becomes more intense and environmental factors become more hostile, the concerns for service quality grows. If service quality is to become the cornerstone of marketing strategy, the marketer must have the means to measure it. The most popular measure of service quality is SERVQUAL, an instrument developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985 ; 1988). Nevertheless, the SERVQUAL instrument forms the basis on which all other works have been actualised. Interestingly, the conceptualisation, measurement and applications of SERVQUAL across different industrial and commercial settings are not bereft of controversies either. Parasuraman basic model was that consumer perceptions of quality emerge from the gap between performance and expectations, as performance exceeds expectations, quality increases ; and as performance decreases relative to expectations, quality decreases. Thus, performance-to-expectations “ gaps” on attributes that consumers use to evaluate the quality of a service form the theoretical foundation of SERVQUAL. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the SERVQUAL research on service quality in the following areas: (1) definition and measurement of service quality, and (2) test the reliability of a customised SERVQUAL scale and (3) main conceptualisation and critique in order to approach this instrument and expanding the knowledge of Croatian scientists.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija

POVEZANOST RADA